For the Time Being
by qwynethh
Summary: "What the hell?" In which a mere barista realizes she's not in the right reality, let alone in the right time. OC-Centric. Ninth-Twelfth Doctor. Disclaimer: I don't own DOCTOR WHO. Cover by: VortexFM, thank you so much for letting me use it and drawing her, love!
1. All That Begins and Ends: Her

**FOR THE TIME BEING**

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Summary: In which Valerie Sargent realizes she's not in the right reality, let alone in the right time.

Disclaimer: I do not own _Doctor Who_ or anything in this book except for _Valerie Sargent._

* * *

"What the hell is _that_?"

When Valerie came home from an eight hour shift at the _White Garden_ , she expected her small apartment to be clean and tidy and free of cracks in the wall. But no, even she couldn't have that satisfaction. While cracks were common in this age-old apartment place, they were usually minuscule and hard to see from a distance. Right now, it wasn't the usual case. Instead, the crack was long and narrow with jagged lines shaped in a way that looked like a crooked smile. But that wasn't what caught her off guard, no. The crack, was, well, _glowing_. As though there was light from the other side breaking through.

Which should be impossible considering the fact that the crack came on the outside wall and it was 8 o'clock at night, well after dusk. Besides that, was it just her or is that crack eerily familiar? It felt as though she's seen it before, maybe from a show or something.

Valerie scoffed. _As if._

Her eyes darted around the open-space as she debated on what to do. The smarter decision would be to get someone to fix it obviously and maybe call 9-1-1. Then again, who the hell would call the police for what? A crack in her wall? Hell no, they're gonna think she's bonkers. Another one would just to leave it be and stay at a friend's place. But will the crack even disappear? Hell, how'd even get there in the first place?

"Oh screw it," the young woman threw her hands up in frustration and marched over to the crack in the wall. Leaning in closely, she eyed the jagged shape with curiosity and a tad bit of fear. _I swear to god if some ghost or something pops through this crack, I'm gonna lose my shit_.

Feeling a bit daring, she let her fingers grazed the crack. The whole time she brushed it, her heart was pounding heavily against her ribcage and heat rose to her shoulder blades. Valerie can hear her breath, uneven and loud in its trepidation. She had a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach, kinda like when you're swimming in a lake and you want to put your feet on something solid, but it turns out the water's deeper than you realize and there's nothing there to hold you up.

When she reached to the end of the crack, nothing happened. Valerie huffed out a laugh, relieved as she pulled away. "God, I've been scared out of my wits for nothing. It's just a bloody crack, Sargent, what the hell—"

Valerie stopped in mid speech, grabbing her head as it throbbed painfully. At first it spiked up, like something slammed through her mind and then the next, it dulled into a nagging, persistent pain that didn't seem to go away. Black dots began appearing through her vision and sweat began to drip down her forehead. A sense of dread filled her. Before she knew it, the world darkened around her and she clenched her eyes shut, slumping down against the wall.

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

When she woke up, it wasn't quick or startling. Her ascension was slow, deliberate as it eased her mind into the world of living. Valerie can hear the calm, persistent beeping of the heart monitor and the common hospital smell swept through her nostrils. She can feel the chilled yet temperate air around her, the soft fabric of thin hospital sheets and the hard mattress beneath her. Although her eyes had yet to crack open, she can see trickles of light peaking through her eye-lids and the slight heat from the window to her face. Silently, she kept her ears open for any other noises besides the heart monitor. Finding nothing but the muffled sounds of footsteps and voices, her fingers twitched beside her and she slowly opened her eyes.

Her room was relatively small and plain in its design; with a big window on one wall, few chairs carefully placed around and a telly just across from her. The colours of blue and white and beige weren't hard on the eyes and she was glad for it. When she peaked over at the night stand, Valerie was surprised to see a bouquet of flowers and two letters sitting idly on it. While it would be easy to say that it was probably from a friend or a co-worker, she wasn't very close with the people she hangs around it. At least, not close enough to gauge them into bringing her flowers and get-well cards at least.

Ignoring the sudden stinging on pain, the brunette slowly sat up, carefully adjusting her IV line to make sure she doesn't tangle it or anything. Intrigued to see who left her cards and flowers, she snatched the two letters. They were both vastly different from the other, one being plain white and the other was dark blue, similar to the colour of that machine from that BBC show. What was it called? _Doctor Who._ Speaking of, she haven't watched the show in a while, maybe she'll watch it the next time she's free?

Valerie shook her head, realizing she was getting off-track. Glancing down at the letters, she decided to open the blue one first. She flipped through it, furrowing her eyebrows as she spotted her name but there was no indication on who it came from. On the other side of it was the number, 2, on its peak. Flipping the letter open, she was astonish to find nothing but a date and numbers on it.

 _22 / 04 / 11_

 _16 : 30 MDT_

 _37° 0'38''N 110° 14'34''W_

Valerie furrowed her eyebrows, silently mouthing 'What the hell?' as she flipped it over again and again. Obviously the first line was a date, April 22, 2011. The second line was time, 16:30 which was 4:30 pm. And MDT is obviously Mountain Daylight Time which is the time in North America. Valerie squinted at the third line, racking through her mind as she eyed the numbers. _Thirty-seven degrees... N for North and W stands for West... Are these coordinates?_

 _Of what, though?_ She thought, squinting her eyes at it. In today's society where GPS exists and technology is advanced, Valerie had initially thought that there was no use to learn how to read them but now she was starting to doubt herself. _I'll look up on it when I find the time I guess_ , she sighed. _Besides, what even is this letter for? An invitation or something?_ Huffing out another sigh, she moved on to the second letter. Valerie prayed that it wouldn't be as weird or as vague as the other tone. Ripping it open, Valerie blinked.

Written in beautiful and bolded cursive were two words:

 ** _Hello, Darling._**

 _I stand_ _corrected._

A knock sounded on her door and Valerie's head shot up, surprised as a older man stepped in, followed by a couple of others. Obviously, judging by the white coat and the IDs around their necks, they were Doctors. At least, the older man is and the rest are just student doctors. Valerie's hazel eyes swept through each intern, eying them curiously. Her gazed stopped on one of them, a dark-skinned woman who smiled nervously under Valerie's sharp gaze.

 _She looks_ really _familiar but I can't my finger on it._

"Glad to see you're awake, Miss Sargent. My name's Dr. Stoker," the older doctor piped in, stealing the brunette's attention. "I'm sure you're curious to see why you're in the hospital, I assume?"

Not trusting her own voice, Valerie nodded, brows furrowing at the man's British accent.

"Right, well, you were found unconscious on Pancras Road, just outside King's Cross. Do you have any collection as to why that happened?" He meets her gaze, bored and clipboard in hand.

 _Wait._

 _What?_ Her eyes widened, astonished at the news. King's Cross is in London, England, which really explains the man's accent but last she recalled, she was at home, in _Vancouver,_ inspecting a crack on the wall. _God, I hope this is a dream and that I'm not actually losing my shit._

Valerie shook her head.

"Short-term memory loss, then. Well, you've showed no signs of cardiothoracic injuries nor do the chances of you getting a heart murmur are high, so," Stoker said aloud and turned to one of his interns. "Morgenstern, remove her from the heart monitor, will you? She won't be needing it. Jones, I'll give you a chance to redeem yourself. "

The black woman, Jones, stepped in and smiled at Valerie as a nervous looking man stepped forward. "Miss Sargent, do you recall if you have recently come into contact with alcohol or drugs?"

The young woman blinked, eyes narrowing. _Jones,_ _huh?_

"Uh, no, I recall having no contact with alcohol or drugs in the recent months," she finally spoke, cringing at the raspy tone of her voice. Her attention diverted to Morgenstern who was trying his best to not look at her chest despite the fact that several of the wires connecting to the heart monitor were on her bare skin. _Jesus Christ._

"Stop blushing, Morgenstern and get to it, you're humiliating Miss Sargent as is." Stoker scolded.

Morgenstern flinched, increasing his pace and was finished in a minute. "Sorry, sorry!"

Jones nodded studiously, although a small of a smile was curled on her lips. "Right, do you or your immediate family have or shown signs of dementia?"

Valerie thought back about her grandmother, Nanabelle as she had fondly called her. She shook her head.

"Are you susceptible to epilepsy or any form of seizures?"

"No."

"Have you received concussions or any form of head trauma?"

Valerie paused, thinking back to the sudden headache she received. She probably fell too if she was unconscious. "Uh, I think so? I got this massive head-ache all of a sudden and I passed out on the ground I guess."

Martha nodded, writing furiously on her notepad. "Likely just a minor concussion, Miss."

Dr. Stoker hummed. "Thank you, Jones," he said blandly before directing his attention to the patient in the room. "Now, Miss Sargent, you've showed no other signs of injury sans the concussion and the short-term memory loss. If anything, I believe you are free to go. Besides that, you'll have to come back to do a scan for your concussion. I'll have the nurses send the discharge papers to your room later and then, you're free to go."

Valerie inclined her head. "Thank you."

With that, Stoker left the room, hastily followed by his students. "Now, we have Mr. Fitzgerald..."

Valerie looked around, feeling more apprehensive and claustrophobic the more she stayed in this room. It didn't help that she has this insistent nagging sense of déjà vu. First the crack on her wall, then the student Doctor Jones. What's more, she's in _bloody_ England when god knows how long ago, she was in _Canada._ Which, mind you, was oceans away from the United Kingdom.

 _God, I'm so losing my shit right now._

Without a second thought, the young woman ripped out the threw the sheets out and swept her legs over to the side. Carefully handling her I.V., she winced at the sudden touch of cold tiles and her bare feet. Goosebumps rose through her pale skin as she moved towards a chair where the nurses placed her clothes and other items, dragging the stand with her. She was relieved and thankful to find them clean and dry and her phone, I.D. and wallet safe and sound in her coat's pocket.

Quickly, she changed into her clothes which was a white blouse paired with a pair of black jeans and white converse. What if some nurse decides its time to do their daily check up or something and they catch her in her underwear? No thanks. Besides, Valerie was pretty certain that if any medical professional caught her up and moving with an IV attached to her arm, hell would broke lose. Even if she was deemed okay and free to go home. Also, she was in no mood to handle worry-wart nurses and aggravating doctors, mind you. It's hard enough changing with an IV attached to her.

Speaking of... Valerie glanced down at the IV on her arm, wondering what she would do about it. As far as she's concerned, she had not undergone surgery and now that's fully awake and walking, she has no need for the IV. Although she was due for a discharge later anyway, she was incredibly eager to leave this wretched, disease-filled place. But how is she going remove it?

She looked around, thinking about how she should go about this. Ripping the IV drip was out of the question. Contrary to popular belief, ripping your intravenous is no easy feat nor is it painless. The moment you rip it out, a steady flow of blood would just drip down and you would be susceptible to both blood loss and infection. Performing the regular procedure of intravenous catheter removal is too complicated by herself and hell, she doesn't even have the supplies.

Knowing you can't remove your IV without risk of bleeding to death and infection is one thing. Realizing it is just frustrating.

Valerie groaned, looking out at the window, expecting to still see the sun shining through the thin curtains. Much to her surprise and bafflement, it wasn't. Instead, the skies had darkened and the only sound that reverberated through the room was the soft thudding of rain against the window.

"What the hell?"

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 **A/N: Decided to have my own twist of the infamous, time-jumping-around-the-Doctor's-timeline trope! I love Doctor Who and I've been going back to it and why not do so while writing it? Don't mind about the Hospital scene with Stoker and Martha and Morgenstern, I genuinely have no idea what I'm doing and endless research on how the workings of a hospital legit killed me so if you noticed that there's something weird and not quite right, well, it's the hospital scene.**

 **FRIENDLY REMINDER: THIS CHAPTER NOR WILL THE NEXT ONES ARE EDITED DUE TO SHEER LAZINESS, thus if you find any errors, please notify me and I'll fix it right away.**

 **p.s. I'm also in a desperate need for a Beta Reader, I mean not desperately, but it'd be nice to have someone besides me edit my work.**

 **Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed it and hope you all have a good day, thank you!**


	2. Smith and Jones: Her First

**FOR THE TIME BEING**

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"Is _all_ that we see or seem

But a dream within a dream?"

— **Edgar Allan Poe** _, A Dream Within A Dream_

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Tentatively, Valerie approached the window. The only sound in the room was the squeaking of the IV stand and the soft beat of rain. She was positively baffled at the sight. Don't get her wrong, she has seen rain before. Hell, she love the rain. When you spend years studying in Vancouver, you either hate the rain or adore it. In this case, it was the latter. Anyways, that wasn't what threw her off. It was the fact that just minutes ago, it had been sunshine and clear skies. Now, it seemed like the whole of London was drenched in a downpour.

Valerie leaned closer, eying the droplets with new-found curiosity. This whole scenario; waking up in a London-based hospital, left with two letters and bouquet of flowers, and the sudden change of weather sounded like some sort of YA novel. It was reassuring to know that at least that she was at home, in bed and dreaming, rather than being faced with a crack in her wall and the fact that she's in London, England.

 _Man, my dreams are running wild._ Valerie snorted, shaking her head at the absurdity of her dream situation.

Suddenly exhausted, the brunette plopped herself down on a nearby seat, wrapping herself up with her coat. For a place that's supposed to provide absolute comfort, the room was incredibly cold. Rubbing her forearms, Valerie stared out at the window, waiting patiently for the nurse to take out her intravenous line. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a deep, growl of thunder reverberated through the room and a bright flash of lightning crackled.

Valerie gasped, gripping the chair's arms tightly as her heart speed up. Before she could even react even further, however, an invisible force pushed her one way. She hissed, the wood jamming itself against her side. Then as though the room itself was in some sort of see-saw—she found herself plunged another way, slamming her waist against the chair. Outside the door, Valerie can hear the sound of shattering glass and cluttered items, mixing in with hysterical screams and sounds of bodies slamming against the hard walls and floors. It kept going like that until she toppled over the chair, bringing down the IV stand down with her.

Just as soon as her body hit against the floor, she felt a sense of déja vu. _London Hospital. Sudden rain. The building getting thrown around. God, this is so familiar but I can't_ —Valerie paused, realization dawning on her. _Oh my god, this is a Doctor Who episode! Smith and Jones!_

Despite the stinging pain, she couldn't help but laugh at the very thought. Somehow, even in her oddest of dreams, Doctor Who seem to follow her everywhere.

As swiftly as it came, the upheaval ceased. Valerie inhaled, shutting her eyes for a moment pause. Although the whole scenario is simply just that—a scenario—it felt realistic. She laid there for a couple for minutes, taking deep breathes as she attempted to calm her speeding heart. When her heart calmed into a consistent beat, Valerie slowly stood, legs shaking.

When she looked over at the window, hand gripping tightly on her IV stand, she was astonished. Just moments earlier, it had been mid-day with rain drizzling down and the next, it was completely and utterly dark. It was as if the place was shrouded in a cloak, cutting out any source of light from the outside. Then, like the images on the Internet, was three-quarters of the Earth.

 _If this is like that Doctor Who episode then..._ Suddenly feeling apprehensive, Valerie snatched her coat and made haste for the door. Like hell she was staying in here by herself. Dream or no dream, the situation is alarming. She paused, glancing back at the bouquet of flowers and the cards scattered on the floor. Huffing a sigh, she grabbed the cards, tucking them into her pocket.

The young woman stepped out, her intravenous in one hand and her coat in the other. Although she saw it coming, the sight of the hospital corridors made her take a step back. The hallways were a mess, with broken glass here and there with carts thrown over head and items scattered around. Not only that, there were people at the hallway, some passed out and others scratched up and bruised in the mess of it all. The people in scrubs tended to them frantically, yelling at each other for this and that, too busy to pay even a moment's glance at the girl.

Taking her chance, she turned the other way and followed the signs leading to the Emergency room. From what she could remember, the Doctor and Martha met up there. Valerie hoped that things go the way they're supposed to because really, what is she supposed to do? Help out? Hide out? Hell no.

Hustling towards the room, Valerie glanced around. The whole place was a mess and the patients and staff alike were both hysterical. Not that she blamed them. The only thing that seems to keep her grounded was the fact that this whole scenario was too surreal, a dream in the works of her Doctor Who obsessed mind.

"Val!" A voice called out, followed by the sound of curtains drawing and Valerie jumped, startled. Whirling around, she met wide, brown eyes and messy hair.

 _Oh my god! Oh my god! It's him, the Tenth Doctor!_ Astounded, her hazel eyes widened, gaping at the man as he greeted her like an old friend. She didn't move as the Time Lord squashed her in a quick hug. The whole thing felt surreal, like a dream come true. _And did he just call me Val?_

The Doctor, noticing her odd behaviour, pulled back. "Val, are you alright? You're rather stiff!"

Valerie didn't replied, too lost in her own thoughts as she continued to stare at the Doctor. _God, this is like, a whole new obsession. Dreaming about being close friends with the Doctor? How much of a fangirl am I?_

Concerned, he patted her cheek lightly. "Oi, Val? Val?"

Finally coming out of her stupor, the brunette blinked repeatedly. "Oh, uh, hi?"

The Doctor titled his head, taken aback at Valerie's shy and fidgety demeanour. He continued to eye her, his stare making her shrink back at the intensity of his gaze.

Then, as though realization dawned on him, the Doctor's expression dropped. "Oh."

At the sight of his heart-broken expression, Valerie's heart clenched, feeling bad. _Why does he look so devastated?_

"You, uh, you alright?" The young woman stuttered out, fiddling with the metal stand in her hand.

The Time Lord didn't replied. "Valerie," he started, serious. "Do you know who I am?"

Startled by his question, Valerie kept quiet. She wasn't sure how to respond to that, truth be told. In one way, she does know him. He was the Doctor, bright and brilliant and clever. Yet at the same time, she didn't know in the way he seemed to be hoping for.

Valerie furrowed her eyebrows. _Why am I thinking like that? He's just, this whole thing really, is a merely dream._ "Should I?" She replied, deciding that it was best to pretend. Dream or not, if he knew that she knew who he was and what was happening, chances of things going wrong were pretty high.

The Doctor smiled, bittersweet as though he knew she was lying. Then, his expression changed into an ecstatic one, as though the last few minutes didn't exist.

"Well, I'm the Doctor!" He waves, wiggling his fingers. "Here's the gist of things; you're meeting me for the first time but I've already met you—my past, your future."

"Wait, what?" Valerie smiled, albeit a bit nervously.

Mockingly sympathetic, the Doctor patted her shoulder and just as he opened his mouth to further explain, two young women strolled in. One of them was Jones, who Valerie realized was Martha Jones, the companion of the Doctor. And this, this is the first time they meet. Valerie couldn't help but smack her face inwardly, astounded by the fact that she hadn't recognized the future-doctor in the first place.

"All right now, everyone back to bed, we've got an emergency but we'll sort it out. Don't worry," Martha called out, self-assured and calm in her stance.

Valerie couldn't help but stare at the student doctor. Out of all of the Doctor's companions, Martha was the least liked. Valerie didn't know why, considering that she loved Martha and her spunk. Although she wasn't the very favourite of hers like Donna Noble was, Valerie could relate to Martha in many ways. When people talked smack about Martha for leaving the Doctor willingly, Valerie understood why. The adventure, the adrenaline, proved to be too much for Martha and when her family got involved, it was understandable for the young to draw back from the thrill. Despite that, she had taken a role in defending the Earth, a very fact that Valerie was proud of.

 _Martha Jones, you brilliant woman._

Too enamored at the sight of Jones, the brunette didn't pay heed to the Doctor's observant stare as he glanced between the two young women.

The student doctor approached the window, astonished. "It's real, it's really real. Hold on." She reached over, ready to open the window.

Her companion was in near hysterics, shaking her head wildly. "Don't! We'll lose all the air!"

Rolling her eyes, Martha shot back. "But they're not exactly air tight. If the air was going to get sucked out it would have happened straight away, but it didn't. So how come?"

The Doctor tugged Valerie along, hence dragging the IV stand with her, garnering the two's attention. "Very good point! Brilliant, in fact," he praised, sounding more surprised. "What's your name?"

"Martha Jones," the student doctor replied before she spotted Valerie beside the Doctor. "Oh! Miss Sargent, why are you out of room? And you're still attached to your IV!" The woman fussed, sending the brunette a scolding look.

It was then that the Doctor took notice of the fact that Valerie was, indeed, attached to an IV line. "Wait, why do you have that? Are you hurt?" He whirled around, eyes scanning her form for any injuries.

"'Doc, I'm fine," Valerie said, rubbing her neck sheepishly as the two Doctors looked her over.

Martha blinked, watching the man fret over the young woman. "You two know each other?"

Both of them paused, glancing at each other tentatively before the Doctor nodded. "Yes, we're friends," he said after a moment's pause before he turned his attention back to Valerie. "If you're not hurt, why are you in the hospital?"

 _Jesus Christ,_ Valerie thought, _he's worse than Nana._ "'Doc, the moon? Air? Breathing?" She gestured to the window.

The Doctor huffed, giving her look that promised that it will not be the end of it. "Well then, Martha Jones, the question is, how are we still breathing?" He asked, turning to Martha.

"We can't be!" Martha's friend squawked, distraught.

Although Valerie's heart goes out to the girl, she sighed. "You say that but we should be dead by now."

"So don't waste our time," the Doctor waved the poor woman off, a tad irritated.

Suddenly, out of impulse, Valerie smacked him lightly. "Don't be so insensitive, 'Doc. She's just scared." Despite her calm demeanour, she was panicking. If anything, Martha's friend was basically showing exactly how Valerie felt in this situation. The only thing that kept from bursting into hysterics was the fact that this whole thing was a dream.

"Right, right, sorry," the Doctor muttered, rubbing his head before turning to Martha. "Martha, what have we got? Is there a balcony on this floor, or a veranda, or...?"

Martha nodded. "By the patient's lounge, yeah."

"Fancy going out?" The Doctor asked her, grabbing Valerie's free hand.

"Okay."

Valerie titled her head. "We might die." She pointed out.

Martha smirked. "We might not."

"Good! C'mon," the Doctor flashed a grin at the two girls. "Not her, she'd hold us up." He gestured towards the sobbing woman before he sauntered out, Martha at his heels.

The brunette threw his back a scolding look, unimpressed before she sent a sympathetic apology towards the hysterical student doctor. Scurrying after the Doctor, Valerie groaned, looking at the metal stand she dragged behind her. _Damn it. I forgot to ask someone to take it off._

The patients' lounge, Valerie found, was not that much better than the hallways. With every glance, there was some form of chaos. A woman had fainted with a nurse fussing over her. Another woman was on the verge of hysterics, sobbing much like Martha's friend was. On the other side, there was shattered frames on the ground with broken glass over and fallen plants. People running around like headless chickens, going crazy with panic. The trio walked straight through the mess, albeit cautiously and awkwardly on Valerie's part, heading straight to the low-walled veranda.

The Doctor paused before it, sharing looks with his two new companions as he tested the handles. In a silent count, all three of them took deep breathes as the Doctor pushed the door open.

And much to their surprise (and Valerie's relief), nothing happened. By that, any signs of the outrush of air were non-existent.

"Looks like we're breathing, boys," Valerie said, exhaling.

Martha looked around, baffled. "We've got air. How does that work?"

"Just be glad it does," the Doctor replied, face somber.

Silence came over them, the seriousness of the situation settling on the trio as they stared ahead. Valerie couldn't help but give her brain credit for giving her such a highly-detailed dream, everything looked realistic at every glance and the Doctor and Martha played their parts wonderfully.

"I've got a party tonight," Martha piped up. "My brother's twenty first. Oh, my mother's going to be really, really..." She trailed off, her voice cracking.

Valerie shot the student doctor a sympathetic look, feeling bad for her previous thought. Even if the Doctor and Martha were simply characters in a TV show and this was her dream, they didn't know that. Or at least she thinks they didn't. Reaching over, the young woman wrapped an arm around Martha, pulling her in a side hug.

"You alright?"

Martha sniffed, straightening herself. "Yeah."

"Sure?" The Doctor added, just in case."

She nodded. "Yeah."

"Do you want to go in?" He asks, his words carefully placed as though he was treading on thin ice.

Martha shook her head, a smile curling on her lips slowly. "No way. I mean, we can die any minute, but all the same—it's beautiful."

Valerie and the Doctor shared glances, both having their own wistful smile on their faces. "Do you think?" He questioned.

"How many people want to go to the moon?" Martha shot back. "And here we are."

Valerie stared at the empty space, eyes straight on Earth which looked so far away. _A long way from home._ "Right you are, Jones," she whispered softly. "Quite the sight." Valerie tensed, feeling a hand wrap itself around her own and she glanced up, meeting the Doctor's ancient, kind eyes looking down on her.

"Standing in Earthlight," he commented, glancing back to the peaceful terrain before them.

Martha frowned, feeling the gravity of the situation settling in. "What do you think happened?"

"What do _you_ think?" The Doctor shot back, turning to look at the student doctor curiously.

"Extraterrestrial," the young woman replied instantly then she paused, realizing how crazy she must've sounded. When the Doctor and Valerie said nothing else, silently urging her to continue, she did. "It's got to be. I don't know—a few years ago that would've sounded mad, but these days? That spaceship flying into Big Be, Christmas, those Cybermen things. I had a cousin. Adeola. She worked at Canary Wharf and—she never came home."

Valerie rubbed Martha's shoulder, whispering condolences as she looked at the Doctor. She watched his face contort into one of guilt and she felt her own mood dampened. Unknownst to the two, Valerie knew that Canary Wharf was the battle the Doctor lost Rose Tyler who was sucked into the Void, never to be seen again. At least, from what she can recall, not _way_ later into the show.

"I'm sorry," Valerie offered, unsure whether it was to the Doctor or the somber intern at her side.

"Yeah."

"We were there, in the battle, it was..." The Doctor trailed off, the wound too fresh to continue.

Valerie remained silent, brows furrowing at the Doctor's words. _We?_

Martha didn't respond to his words either before she turned to them, face determined. "I promise you, Mister Smith, Miss Sargent, we will find a way out. If we can travel to the moon, then we can travel back." She paused, a moment's hesitation before she shook it off. "There's got to be a way."

"Call me Valerie," the brunette said, smiling at Martha's determination. "Miss Sargent makes me feel old. I'm only 23 years old, eh?"

The Doctor snorted, glancing down at her fondly. "Oh, I wouldn't say that..." He trailed off teasingly, earning a light smack on the chest and a light _bastard._ Turning to Martha who looked borderline amused and confused, he added. "It's not Smith. That's not my real name."

"Who are you, then?" Martha frowned.

"I'm the Doctor."

"Me too, if I can pass my exams," Martha replied, taking his words as a joke as she turned back to gaze on the moon's landscape. "What is it then, Doctor Smith?"

The Doctor shook his head. "Just the Doctor."

"How do you mean, just the Doctor?" Martha asked incredulously, glancing at Valerie as if asking _Is he kidding?_

Valerie shrugged. "Just the Doctor, I guess. I just went a long with it."

"What, do people just call him the Doctor?"

The brunette nodded alongside the Doctor, fiddling with the sleeve of her shirt. "Uh-huh."

Martha frowned. "Well, I'm not. As far as I'm concerned, you've got to earn that title."

"Well, I'd better make a start, then. There must be some sort off..." The Doctor started, squatting down as he grabbed a stone chipping, stood back up and proceeded to hurl it across the wall.

Valerie blinked, watching as the stone passed through an invisible wall, wobbling as the wall itself rippled blue and faded. "Cool. A forcefield." She commented lightly.

Doctor shot her a smile. "You're right and it's keeping the air in."

"But if that's like a bubble sealing us in, that means this is the only air we've got. What happens when it runs out?" Martha asked, concern marring her face.

The Doctor's smile faded, turning into a serious expression as he asked. "How many people are in this hospital?"

Martha shrugged. "I don't know? A thousand?"

"One thousand people suffocating," he replied to her question.

Valerie flinched at his brutal honesty, gulping silently as she stared out at the moon's terrain. Despite the fact that this whole thing was a dream and every thing does turn out right in the end, her sense of touch and feelings are quite acute in this dream. So, say if she suffers from mild asthma—which she does by the way—the chances of her passing out were very high.

"Nice." She muttered, biting her lip nervously.

"Why would anyone do that?" Martha asked, paling.

As if on cue, a loud sound ringed out, garnering their attention.

"Ask 'em yourself." The Doctor replied. "Heads up!"

Following the sound, three massive spaceships pass overhead, landing nearby. The ships were massive in size, looking like upright tubes decorated with levels and lights. The two women held each other's hand, watching as the dust blew out. The Doctor reached over and grasped Valerie's friend hand, running small circles in an attempt to comfort her. The three of them watched, a sense of dread filling the air as large panels of the ship slid up, a ramp sliding down harshly on Moon's surface. Then, in one quick smooth motion, the sound of marching feet reached their ears as figures stepped out of their space craft, armed and militaristic in standing. And heading straight to the Hospital.

Martha gasped, eyes bulging out. "Aliens. That's... aliens. Real, proper, aliens."

The Doctor's eyes narrowed dangerously, lips curling into a small snarl. "Judoon."

A look of terror crossed over Valerie's face, her lips pulled into an anxious smile, feeling both amused and terrified. _Oh, jesus christ. Cop Rhinos._

* * *

Valerie trailed after Martha and Doctor, the three of them creeping along the mezzanine level. The trio ducked under, hiding between the plants. The brunette observed silently as humanoid rhinos flashed a blue light to people's foreheads and later drawing an _X_ on the back of their hand. For a bunch of rhinos, they're really intimidating in their black, studded and leathered uniforms.

Despite the severity of the situation, the Doctor's attention was elsewhere. "Oh, look down there! You've got a little shop. I like a little shop."

Valerie snorted, nudging him slightly as Martha shook her head. "Never mind that," the young intern said. "What are Judoon?"

"They're like police," the Doctor started. "Well, police for hire. They're more like interplanetary thugs?"

"And they brought us to the moon?" Martha asked incredulously.

The younger hummed, drumming her fingers against her thigh. "Neutral territory," she blurted out, remembering the Doctor's words on _Smith and Jones._ There was no harm in blurting out a couple of things, right? "That means they got no jurisdiction over Earth due to Galactic Laws, right?"

The Doctor beamed at her, patting her head lightly causing the brunette to blush. "Good on 'ya, Val!" He turned to Martha then, noticing her confused expression. "The rain? The lightning? That was them, using a H2O scoop."

"What are you two on about? Galactic Law? Where'd you get that from?" Martha's eyes darted between the two, inwardly questioning their sanity.

"Because of the Galactic Law, the Judoon have to isolate the hospital to the moon. 'Cause they have no authority to do it on Earth itself." Valerie repeated, simplifying her words in order for the intern to understand.

The Doctor crept along, still out of sight of the Judoon as Valerie and Martha scurried to follow him.

"If they're police, are we under arrest? Are we trespassing on the moon or something?" She asked, not quite grasping the situation.

The Doctor shook his head, musing. "No, but I like that. Good thinking. No, I wish it were that simple. They're making a catalogue. That means they're after something non human, which is very bad news for me." He glanced down at the short brunette. "And you, I suppose."

Valerie blinked, too focused on the Judoon to hear him right. "Huh?"

"Ah, sorry, too early." He waved her off. "I'll explain later, okay?"

"...Okay?"

"Why is that bad news to the both of you?" Martha questioned, brows furrowing, skeptical. The Doctor stared at her flatly, silently waiting for her to figure it out.

" _No._ You're kidding me." She glanced at Valerie but the barista shrugged, unsure herself. "Don't be ridiculous."

Neither of them replied. "Stop looking at me like that." Realization dawned on Martha, staring at the two with eye wides.

"Come on, then." The Doctor went ahead, dragging Valerie along. Martha remained still, wrapping her head around the fact that _both_ of them were _in_ human before she scurried after the two.

* * *

 **A/N: Thank you so much for the lovely follows and favourites! It makes me happy to know that people are reading this!**

 **To the two lovely people who reviewed this; Thank you so much for taking the time to read this!**

 **Pfannkuchen07 - I genuinely don't know what to say besides thank you so much! I'm glad that you're excited to read the rest and hopefully I can still keep you hooked. It's great that your days are good. Mine is too and it got better reading the reviews, thanks for asking and see you soon!**

 **Mirlanthiriel - Aweh, I appreciate it that you think so! Hopefully I can keep it up.**


	3. Smith and Jones: Dream

**FOR THE TIME BEING**

* * *

"You must go on adventures to find out where you belong."

— **Sue Fitzmaurice** (via _themotivationjournals_ )

* * *

Valerie ran alongside the Doctor and Martha, mentally thanking the latter for removing her IV line as they sprinted down the stairs. It would've been a real drag to drag the damn thing around. As they neared, they spotted a sign that read **FLOOR 6** and darted down towards the corridor of one of the wards. The trio dodged the people on the ground, avoiding them as humans descended into a series of emotions. As soon as they reached the nurses' station, the Doctor slid into a chair behind the table and took out his sonic screwdriver, flashing it at the computer. Valerie peered over his shoulder, watching him hack into the hospital's mainframe.

"They've reached third floor." Martha said as she burst into the room, catching sight of the Doctor's device. "What's that thing?"

"Sonic screwdriver." He replied, not taking his eyes off the screen as tabs popped up continuously.

"Well, if you're not going to answer me properly." Martha huffed, peeved.

The Doctor spluttered lightly, brandishing the tool. "No, really, it is. It's a screwdriver, and it's sonic! Look!"

Martha snorted, sharing glances with Valerie. "What else have you got, a laser spanner?" She remarked sarcastically.

"I did, but it was stolen by Emily Pankhurst, cheeky woman," the Doctor said then he frowned, glaring at the computer. "Oh, this computer! The Judoon must have locked it down. Judoon platoon upon the moon."

Valerie sniggered, watching the Doctor as he ran his hands through his hair in obvious frustration. In result, the strands stood up in different places, messy and yet very hot. She blushed, the very thought flustered her and she looked away, hiding her face with her hand. _Val, no! Oh my god, he's like nine hundred!_

Another voice piped in, a sly tone to it. _As if that's ever gonna stop me_ —Her cheeks reddened furiously as she shook her head.

Martha glanced at Valerie curiously before her attention was taken by the Doctor.

"'Cause I was just travelling past. I swear," the man whirled around to face the two. "I was just wandering. I wasn't looking for trouble, honestly, I wasn't." Oddly enough, he was looking at Valerie expectantly as though waiting for her to say something.

In return the barista quirked an eyebrow, lips curled in amusement. "You say that but everywhere you go, there's trouble, 'Doc." She remarked, crossing her arms.

"Not my fault!" The Doctor protested, turning to look at Martha as he explained. "I noticed these plasma coils around the hospital, and that lightning, that's a plasma coil. Been building up for two days now, so I checked in. I thought something was going on inside. It turns out the plasma coils were the Judoon up above."

"But what were they looking for?" Martha asked, her eyebrows furrowing in concern.

"Something that looks human, but isn't."

"So, you?" Valerie quipped, brushing her fingers through her long, dark hair.

The Doctor smiled at her. "Like me. But not me."

"Haven't they got a photo?" The intern inquired.

"Well, might be a shape-changer," Valerie added in response. "A bit hard to use a photo when your target changes their features at will."

Martha snorted, shooting Valerie an amused look. "Whatever it is, can't you just leave the Judoon to find it?"

The Doctor shook his head. "If they declare the hospital guilty of harbouring a fugitive..." He trailed, solemn. "They'll sentence it to execution."

"All of us?" Martha gasped, eyes wide.

"Well, that's concerning." Valerie muttered aloud, biting her lip anxiously. The Doctor patted her hand in silent reassurance.

"Oh yes, but if I can find this thing first..." the Doctor mused aloud, turning back to look at the screen. Within a few moments, his concentrated look broke and was replaced by an aggravated expression, slamming his fist on the keyboard. "Oh! You see, they're thick! Judoon are thick! They are completely thick! They wiped the records. Oh, that's clever!"

"What are we looking for?" Martha asked.

He shrugged. "I don't know. Say, any patient admitted in the past week with unusual symptoms," he replied, flashing his sonic screwdriver at the computer again. "Maybe there's a back-up..."

Martha shifted. "Just keep working. I'll go ask Dr. Stoker, he might know." She said quickly before running out.

"Martha, wait!" Valerie called out but the young woman was already out of reach. The brunette huffed, shoving her hands down into her pockets to fiddle with the little cards. _I was gonna warn her about the men in black,_ Valerie grunted, a small smile curling on her lips. _Heh. Men in Black. But they're not technically male are they? What did he call them? It started with an 'S'._

Shaking her head, she turned back towards the Doctor who still focused on the computer. "Any progress, 'Doc?" For the first time in the dream, Valerie took the time to take the Doctor in. He was dressed in his blue suit, occupied with a long, red tie tucked into it. His iconic, messy hair bobbed slightly in the hair as he ducked his head. His wide, brown eyes were probably so focused as they scanned the screen studiously. Valerie bit her lip, pointedly ignoring the rise of heat on her back. _Is it just me or this room too hot?_

"Close. Almost have it, I think," the Doctor replied, nearly startling the young woman out of her thoughts.

Valerie hummed, rubbing her cheek. "That's good."

"So," the Doctor suddenly piped up, garnering her attention. "Care to tell me why you were hospitalized?"

The brunette hesitated, unsure of what to say. In truth, she shouldn't have to worry about telling the truth considering the fact that this whole mess was a dream. A fact that she really should start implanting in her head before she gets attached. Anyways, in the slim, slim chances that this was in fact real, Valerie did not want to screw up the ending of the show. Like hell she's going to let herself be a catalyst to some impending doom.

Thus, she settled in what Dr. Stoker told her this morning. "Can't remember," she muttered out, barely audible enough for the Doctor to hear. "Short-term memory loss."

The Doctor hummed. "'That so?"

She nodded before she remembered that his was back was to her. She blushed as she bit out. "Y-yeah."

A moment's silence passed over them, leaving to their thoughts. Valerie mulled over the minutes prior, thinking over the Doctor's words about her. _Here's the gist of things; you're meeting me for the first time but I've already met you—my past, your future. Yes, we're friends._ The warmth of his hand wrapping around hers was still prominent. She frowned. _He talks as though we've known each other for years but I barely know him. How?_

"Spoilers."

Valerie blinked, jumping out of her reverie at the sudden word. _Spoilers. That's River Song's word. Used for vague responses against questions about the Doctor and River's future._ Her cheeks turned pink, realizing that she said the previous thought aloud.

"Sorry, did I say that out loud?" She asked, voice high.

The Doctor chuckled, bobbing his head in affirmation. Then his eyes brightened, a large grin catching his face as he cheered. "Aha! I restored the back-up!" He turned to Valerie, startling the girl by engulfing her into a hug. He didn't pay heed to the stiffening of her shoulders and simply squeezed her.

"That's fantastic...?" Valerie trailed off, a tad uncomfortable as she patted the Doctor's back awkwardly. Inwardly, she could her heart raising in its beat, dancing out a samba. The fact that the Doctor—the handsome, dorky, Tenth Doctor—was hugging her made her 16-year-old self scream in giddy excitement.

He beamed, pulling away. "Fantastic, indeed!" He grabbed her hand, dragging her towards the door. "Come along, then! Let's go find Martha! _Allons-y_!" *

 _Ah. The infamous catchphrase of the Tenth._ Valerie chuckled, earlier's awkward tension forgotten as she let the Doctor pull her along. " _Allons-y_?"

" _Allons-y!_ " The Doctor repeated, looking down at her. "You speak French, right? So you know what it means?"

" _Bien sûr_ ," Valerie scoffed, as though in disbelieved that he would ask that. "For someone who claims to know me, you seem to be lacking a few facts, eh?" *

The Doctor pouted, opening his mouth to retort before he caught sight of Martha running down the hall, spotting the two in return. He smiled. "I restored the back-up—"

"—I found her!" Martha cut him off, nearly colliding into the two in her panic.

"Wait, what?"

"You did what?"

Before Martha could explain further, the trio caught sight of a door flying, followed by the sound of wood against a hard surface reverberating throughout the hall. Moments after, a man in black, leather, biker-styled clothing strolling through. Before Valerie could process of what was happening, the Doctor had grasp hers' and Martha's hands, dragging them to follow him.

"Run!" The three of them bolted through the corridor, the motorcycle man hot in their heels. They dived through the stairwell, leaping over people as they go, quick in their haste before they came to a halt. Judoon troops were marching up the stairwell, heading towards their way. Fortunately, they haven't caught sight of the trio just yet.

"Oh, shit." Valerie whispered, earning a smack on the shoulder.

"Language!" The Doctor scolded quietly before he shoved the two women ahead into Floor 5. "Come on, this way!"

Before them was a long, long corridor. It was empty and deserted with no people except for them. From what Valerie could tell, it wasn't one of the ward floors and it looked more like a technical area. The trio bolted through, their footsteps thudding and echoing in the empty corridor. The man in black was hot in his pursuit, following them like a woman scorned. They took a sharp turn to the corner, and yet the courier was quick and didn't seem to exhaust himself. Instead, he quickened his speed and closed the gap between them. Valerie panted heavily, barely keeping up but the Doctor tugged her hand forward, pulling her and Martha to a sudden turn to a side corridor.

Valerie scurried after the Doctor and Martha into the X-ray room, Valerie slamming the door shut as the Doctor efficiently locked the motorcycle man out with his screwdriver. Despite the threat stabilized for now, the Doctor pushed her and Martha into the control room, pointing them towards the control machine.

"When I say now, press the button," the Doctor instructed before he made his way out to handle the courier.

"Which one?!" Martha shrieked out, eyes darting between buttons.

"Then find out!"

Valerie bit her lip, listening to the sound of the man in black slamming his entire weight into the door as she eyed the buttons. For the life of her, she couldn't remember which button Martha had pressed in the episode. And with the adrenaline pumping in her veins, it was hard to think.

 _Oh, jeez, I'm terrified._

Meanwhile, Martha scurried through the instructions manual and the Doctor adjusted the arm the overhead camera was attached to with his sonic screwdriver, swinging down to his level.

Valerie glanced up, catching sight of the door slowly giving in to the force of the motorcycle man's strength. She gulped, feeling her heart speed up as she frantically searched for the button.

The Doctor, meanwhile, shoved his sonic screwdriver into the camera, so that it was sticking out on the top of it. He grins, holding the camera at his chest as he faces the door.

In a beat, the courier slammed his body against the door once last time, sending the door downhill. Unaffected and unfazed, he stood intimidatingly in the door.

"Now!" The Doctor shouted.

In her panic, Valerie slammed her palm down into a big, yellow button at the centre.

She met Martha's eyes, shooting her an anxious smile. "Pray that we hit the right one, Jones!"

Instantly, the room flashed in a furry of black and white. Radiation struck both the Doctor and the courier, showcasing their bones or in the motorcycle man's case, none of it before the room dimmed back to normal. Moments later, the courier toppled over, straight as a statue and revealing the sign **X-RAY DEPARTMENT** behind it as it fell.

Silence overcame the room. Martha shook with fear, hiding behind the partition that blocked the X-Ray room from the control room. Valerie bit her lip, her hazel eyes bulging out of her head as she stared at the Doctor. The whole thing felt surreal but the overall scene, the lights flashing and the Doctor's visible skeleton, made it as though it was real. She glanced at Martha, noting how shook Martha looked with concern.

"...What did you do?" Martha breathed out, looking at him.

"Increased the radiation by five thousand percent," the Doctor explained. "Killed him dead."

"Isn't that supposed to kill you, then?" Valerie asked, titling her head.

"Nah," the Time Lord scoffed, finding the idea ridiculous. "It's only Rontgen radiation, we used to play with Rontgen bricks in the nursery. It's safe for you to come out, I've absorbed it all."

 _Ah, right._ The brunette mused. _I remember him saying that in the show._

Hesitantly, Valerie stepped out, Martha at her back. Martha stared at the Doctor who started to shake and shudder, doing some sort of twitching dance.

"You alright, 'Doc?" The barista called out, sounding amused.

He nodded. "All I need to do is expel it, say, if I concentrate and shift the radiation out of my body and into one spot—say, my left shoe," the Doctor rattled on, shaking his foot left and right. "Ooh! Ah! There we go, easy does it! Out, out, out, ooh, that itches, ow, ouch, hold on—!" He jerked his shoe, socks and all, off and shoved it down into the yellow waste bin. "Done!"

Martha shared a disbelieving glance with Valerie, flabbergasted. "You're completely mad."

The Doctor shot her a look then nodded, as though agreeing. "You're right, I look daft with one shoe." He yanked his right shoe and socks off, throwing out into the yellow bin. He grinned enthusiastically at Valerie, wiggling both his eyebrows and his toes.

"Barefoot on the moon!"

Valerie slapped a hand to her face, snorting. _Jesus Christ, this man!_ She came over to him, a big smile on her face. "You're a funny man, 'Doc."

He simply smirked, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "That I am, Val! That I am!" He huffs out, triumph.

Martha shook her head before she looked towards the dead motorcycle man. "So what's that thing, where's he from? The Planet Zovirax?" She gestured, a sarcastic smile on her face.

The Doctor scurried over towards the limp body, bending down to examine it. Curiously, Valerie did the same, poking at it with her finger. She made a face at it, quietly disturbed.

"It's just a Slab. They're called Slabs. Basic slave drones, d'you see?" The Doctor reached out and squeezed its arm, muttering. "Solid leather, all the way through. Someone has got one hell of a fetish." He stood up, heading over to the X-ray camera and removed the burnt out sonic.

"But it was that woman, Miss Finnegan. It was working for her, just like a servant." Martha said.

Valerie hummed. "Miss Finnegan's an alien, then. I mean what human in the 21st Century harbour basic slave drones?"

Martha nodded feverishly in agreement. "Yes! Exactly!"

However, the Doctor paid no heed to the either of them. He stared mournfully at his old tool, the sonic screwdriver burnt to a crisp at one end.

"My sonic screwdriver!" He exclaimed, waving it to show Valerie.

The young brunette smiled sympathetically, awkwardly patting his shoulder.

Martha continued, unabashed by the man's dismay. "She was one of the patients, but..." She trailed off, thinking back to the scene. "Mr. Stoker—she killed him."

"It burnt out the sonic screwdriver!" the Doctor wailed out, ignoring Martha.

"There, there, 'Doc," Valerie comforted. "You'll get a new one, I'm sure."

 _This man, unbelievable,_ the barista bit her lip, attempting to hold back her laughter as she rubbed his back. _Even in a serious situation, he acts like a child._

"She had a straw like some kind of vampire—"

"—I loved my sonic screwdriver!" The Doctor whined, interrupting whatever Martha said.

Martha furrowed her eyebrows in frustration. "Doctor!"

The Time Lord blinked, pausing. "Sorry," he said apologetically, tossing his sonic screwdriver over his shoulder. Triumph, he grinned at Martha. "You called me Doctor."

"Wow." Valerie coughed, hiding down her laughter.

"Anyway!" Martha shook her head in disbelief, sharing a look with the younger woman. "Like, Valerie says—Miss Finnegan is the alien, she was drinking Mr. Stoker's blood."

"Funny time to take a snack. You'd think she'd be hiding, unless..." He mused aloud. Then his eyes widened comically, bulging out of his eye sockets as he adamantly shook his head. "No! Yes! That's it! Wait a minute... Yes! Shape-changer, an _internal_ shape-changer! She wasn't drinking blood, she was _assimilating_ it!"

"So, when she drank Mr. Stoker's blood, the Judoon would register her as human, then? 'Cause she's mimicking the biology." Valerie concluded, tilting her head.

"Exactly! Clever as always, eh?" The Doctor beamed at her with approval, causing the young woman to turn pink. His face contorts into a determined one, looking at both Martha and Valerie. "We've got to find her and show the Judoon. Come on!"

Grabbing both their hands, the Doctor and his entourage ran out of the room only to pause at the sight of another Slab further down in the corridor. The motorcycle courier stood still, turning carefully side to side, scanning the perimeter. It was safe to assume that the Slab was looking for them although its black visor gave nothing away. Valerie winced, remembering the strenuous beating her heart gone through from the previous encounter. Silently, the trio shuffled over to crouch behind a trolley, eying the Slab from afar. Several moments later, the Slab walked off but it took a couple of more minutes for the three of them to relax.

"That's the thing about Slabs. They always travel in pairs." The Doctor muttered.

"And what about you two?" Martha asked, looking at the Doctor and Valerie.

Simultaneously, they both blinked.

The Doctor frowned. "What about us?"

"Haven't you got back-up? You must have a crew or something?" The young intern turned to Valerie. "You got 'get well' cards a couple of days ago, how come you haven't called them?"

 _Funny thing,_ Valerie thought sarcastically, _I don't know who sent it._ Outwardly, the woman shrugged, fiddling with said cards in her pocket. "I don't know who sent them."

At the mention of the cards, the Doctor looked at Valerie curiously before he shook his head. "Humans!" The Time Lord huffed, annoyed. "We're stuck on the moon running out of air with Judoon and a bloodsucking criminal, and you're asking personal questions? _Come on_."

Martha scoffed. "Oh, I like that. _Humans!_ I'm still not convinced you're an alien."

As if on cue, the Doctor stepped up right in front of a Judoon with two others at its side. Instantly, the Judoon held up the scanner to the Doctor's forehead, shining it.

 _Oh, shit!_ Valerie's eyes narrowed in panic as the scanner whirred out a noise and the Judoon growled.

"Non-human!"

Martha gaped, baffled. "Oh my God, you really are!"

The Doctor reached over and grabbed Martha's and Valerie's hands, an exasperated look on his face. "And again."

The three of them bolted, trying to get as far away from the Judoon. Valerie dared to look back, seeing them simply lifted their blasters, aiming right at their backs. In one smooth, quick motion, three streaks of red lights zoomed towards them. The young brunette made a noise, squawking as she grabbed her companions and duck left, just missing the shots. She flinched at the sound of an explosion from the end of the corridor, a sound meant for them. Even from a few ways away, she could still hear the stubborn pursuit of the Judoon, their lumbering bodies stomping across the corridor. She quickened her pace.

Valerie panted heavily as she scurried after the Doctor and Martha, hiking up through the stairs. When they reached the sixth floor, they were quick to lock the door, blocking the Judoon out. Barging in, they stumbled a corridor filled with people saddled up against the walls, a large number of them clinging to the oxygen tanks and sticking their faces with masks and sharing them around.

The younger woman wheezed, feeling the air constrict at the slow decrease of oxygen.

"They've done this floor," the Doctor observed, gaze catching onto the black crosses on their hands. "Come on. The Judoon are logical and just a little bit thick. They won't go back to check a floor they've checked already."

"If we're lucky," Valerie added, heaving silently. She didn't want to distract the Doctor or Martha by burdening them because she couldn't handle a run.

Carefully dodging through the people, Martha spotted her friend assisting a woman with an oxygen tank. "How much oxygen is there?"

Martha's friend shook her head, biting her lip. "Not enough for all these people, we're gonna to run out."

The Doctor glanced down at Valerie, noticing her erratic breathing. He cursed, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "That's right, you have mild asthma, don't you?" He rubbed her shoulders. "How are you feeling, Val?"

Valerie nodded, feeling a bit weary. "I'm good, 'Doc. I'm good," she bit out. When she saw the unsure look on his face, she smiled wryly at him. "I am, really, not like I'd pass out anytime soon."

The Doctor still seemed hesitant, looking into her hazel eyes. When they didn't falter, he sighed and turned to Martha. "How about you? Are you feeling alright?"

The woman nodded, smiling reassuringly. "Running on adrenaline."

Valerie snorted, agreeing as the Doctor grinned. "Welcome to my world."

"What about the Judoon?" Martha asked.

The Doctor shook his head. "Great big lung reserves. It won't slow them down," he looked around. "Where's Mr. Stoker's office?"

"This way," the intern gestured and the three of them ran, following Martha.

* * *

When they burst through the door of Mr. Stoker's office, Martha deflated when Miss Finnegan was not in the room.

"She's gone, she was here..."

Valerie flashed the older woman a reassuring smile. "We'll get her, don't worry."

The Doctor approached Mr. Stoker's corpse, kneeling down to it. He examined in, frowning at the wide-eyes that stared back at him. His frowned deepened at the sight of the pin-prick of blood that marred his neck. "Drained him dry. Every last drop. I was right, she's a Plasmavore."

Valerie approached behind his back, silently sending prayers to Mr. Stoker. Beside her, Martha stared at the corpse.

"What's she doing on Earth?" Martha asked.

"Hiding. On the run. Like Ronald Biggs in Rio de Janeiro." The Doctor stood up, musing aloud. "What's she doing now? She's still not safe. The Judoon could execute us all. Come on."

The Doctor quickly ran out but Valerie grabbed his sleeve, halting him as they spotted Martha tentatively approaching Mr. Stoker's corpse.

"Wait a minute," she mumbled out, kneeling down beside Mr. Stoker. Slowly, she reached out and closed his eyes in silent respect. Her deed finished, she stood and turned to her companions who watch her with empathetic looks.

With Mr. Stoker's death looming over the back of their mind, they scurried out into the corridor

Think, think, think! If I was a plasmavore surrounded by police, what would I do? Uh-oh..." He mused, looking around before he stopped, catching sight of sign that read **MRI DEPARTMENT**. "She's as clever as me," he muttered. "Almost."

Valerie tensed at the sound of a crash, followed by multiple screams. The three of them shared panicked looks.

"Find the non-human! Execute!" A Judoon growled out from a distance.

The Doctor shot a regretful towards Valerie's direction although she didn't catch it before he turned to Martha, eyes somber. "Martha, stay here. I need time. You've got to hold them up." He said urgently.

Martha frowned, confused. "How do I do that?"

"Just forgive me for this," the Time Lord spat out. "It could save a thousand lives. It means nothing. Val." He turned to Valerie who fidgeted awkwardly as she met his earnest gaze. "Valerie. Honestly, absolutely, nothing."

Valerie knew exactly what was going to happen next, even then, she was still perplexed as to why he was telling her this. As if it mattered on what she thought about him kissing Martha.

In one abrupt motion, the Doctor grasped Martha's cheeks and pressed his lips against hers much to the intern's shock. Valerie averted her gaze, feeling out of place. When she was watching the show, Valerie had gasped and screamed because she had not expected the Doctor to pull such a move. Especially after Rose. Even then, Valerie hadn't particularly cared about what happened. Now, however, as the scene plays out in front of her, in her dream version of _Smith and Jones_ , she couldn't help the uneasy feeling that stirred her stomach. She frowned, her emotions bundled up in an ugly assorted pile of jealous and envy because the _Doctor_ kissed Martha and not her. Aggravated with herself, Valerie shook her head adamantly and looked at Martha. The latter looking stunned yet pleased at the Doctor's action as she touched her lip.

The Doctor broke away, grabbing Valerie's hand much to her surprise and darted towards the **MRI DEPARTMENT**. The air around them remained tense as the Doctor pointedly avoided her gaze. Unknownst to the younger woman, he felt remorse that he had gone and kissed Martha despite the vitality of the situation.

In the middle of their run, he looked over his shoulder to meet Valerie's wide eyes. Valerie seemed lost at thought, her hazel eyes glazed over and unaware of a stray hair stuck to the corner of her mouth. The Doctor smiled softly at the sight. He turned his gaze over to the front, still searching.

"Val," he spoke up then, garnering her attention.

Valerie blinked, unsure of how to act after the passionate scene between the Doctor and Martha. "What's up, 'Doc?"

"You know that meant nothing right?"

"What meant nothing?"

"You know," he simply said, as though he realized his next few words would do nothing. "It meant nothing." He settled before they spotted the door to the MRI room, lights flickering off the edges. He squeezed her hand, tugging her to stand behind him.

The brunette squeezed his back, letting him know she got his message.

The Doctor and his companion bursted into the room. The room itself was brimming power. Up and against the wall was the MRI scanner, flickering with blue light that surrounded it. Sealed off in the observation room was an elderly woman Valerie assumed as Miss Finnegan who had armfuls of wiring. It was clear to both Valerie and the Doctor on what her intention was.

The Doctor stepped forward, gaining the Plasmavore's attention. "Have you seen them!? There are these things, these great big space rhino things, I mean, rhinos from space, and we're on the Moon!" He exclaimed, acting on the part of a clueless, human male who stumbled upon a space breakthrough. His eyes were wide and filled with awe as he rambled on."Great big space rhinos with guns on the moon! And I only came in for my bunions, look!" He gestured to his feet, wiggling his toes. "I mean, all fixed now; perfectly good treatment and the nurses were lovely. I said to my wife, Valerie," he held up their intertwined hands, flustering the brunette. "I'd recommend this place to anyone, but then we end up on the moon! And did I mention the rhinos?!"

Valerie silently mouth the words ' _What the fuck?_ ' Both stunned and amused by the Doctor's display.

Unamused, Miss Finnegan snapped. "Hold him." In response, a Slab comes out from behind the door, heading towards the two. He grasped Valerie's arm, tugging it. Less than a second later, Valerie felt her temper bubble and with her previous aggravation acting as a catalyst—she was fuming.

"Hands off, biker boy!" Valerie whirled around and narrowed her eyes at it, ready to fight it despite the overwhelming fear that gripped her heart. Like hell was she gonna get her ass kicked by some dude with leather for a body. She yanked her arm away from it, hissing.

The Slab remained unfazed by her actions and grabbed her, slamming her body against the wall. The force of it instantly sent her spiralling into unconscious, sliding down against the wall as black spots covered her vision.

"Val—" The Doctor called out but the Slab grabbed his arms, restraining him with its brute strength. The man struggled heavily against his arms, his gaze never leaving Valerie's limp form. "Hey, hey! Let go!" The Slab didn't even falter and simply held the Doctor still.

In order to keep up his act, the Doctor looked around, under the pretence of a terrified human. Miss Finnegan strolled around the room with calm confidence, adjusting the random bits of equipment. The power around the MRI machine increased, blue light flickering.

"Er, that, that big, er, machine thing, is it supposed to be making that noise?" The Doctor asked, face pulled into one of bewilderment.

"You wouldn't understand," Miss Finnegan replied, a cruel smile curled on her wrinkled lips.

"But..." The Doctor trailed off, uncertain. "Isn't that a Magnetic Resonance Imaging thing? Like a ginormous sort of a magnet? I did magnetics GCSE. Well," he smiled. "I failed, but all the same..."

Miss Finnegan's eyes widen in surprise before her smile widened, deciding to him. Afterall, he's going to die anyway, so what's the harm? "A magnet, its setting now increased to fifty thousand tesla."

The Doctor visibly paled but hid it behind a nervous smile. "That's a bit strong, isn't it?"

"It'll send out a magnetic pulse that'll fry the brain stems of every living thing within two hundred and fifty thousand miles. Except for me, safe in this room." She explained, smirking.

The Time Lord gulped, brows furrowing. "But er, hold on, hold on, I did geography GCSE. I passed that one. Doesn't that distance include the Earth?"

"Only the side facing the moon, the other half will survive." Miss Finnegan nodded, as though it was enough to spare her. "Call it my little gift."

"I'm sorry, you'll have to excuse me, I'm a little out of my depth. I've spent the past fifteen years working as a postman. Hence the bunions. Why would you do that?"

"With everyone dead, the Judoon ships will be mine, to make my escape."

"No, but that's weird," the Doctor drawled out, feigning confusion. "You're talking like you're some sort of an alien."

Miss Finnegan smiled. "Quite so."

"No!" He gasped, eyes wide.

"Oh, yes."

He shook his head with a disbelieving grin. "You're joshing me!"

"I am not!"

"I'm talking to an alien? In hospital? What, has the place got an ET department?" The Doctor scoffed.

Miss Finnegan quirk up a brow, unamused by the man's humour. "It's the perfect hiding place. Blood banks downstairs for a midnight feast, and all this equipment ready to arm myself with should the police come looking."

"So..." The Doctor trailed off in thought before his eyes widen in mock-realization. "Those rhinos, they're looking for you!"

She smirked, holding up the back of her hand where the black X was drawn. "Yes, but I'm hidden."

"Oh, right. Maybe that's why they're increasing their scans," the Doctor said, nodding.

The plasmavore paused, his words garnering her attention. "They're doing what?"

"Big Chief Rhino boy," the Doctor rattled on. "He said, no sign of a non-human, we must increase our scans up to setting two."

"Then I must assimilate again," she said, pursuing her lips.

"What does that mean?"

"I must appear to be human."

"Well, you're welcome to come home and have cake, my wife over here," the Doctor glanced over towards Valerie who lied against the wall, noting that her breathes were far too erratic for an unconscious person. Realization dawned on him as he continued on. "She would love to make a cake for 'ya."

"Why should I have cake?" Miss Finnegan smiled, digging through her bag. "I've got my little straw."

"Oh, that's nice," the Doctor hummed. "Milkshake? I like banana."

Miss Finnegan stepped forward, studying him. "You're quite the funny man. And yet, I think, laughing on purpose at the darkness. I think it's time you found some peace. Steady him!" She approached him as the Slab forced the Doctor's head up, exposing his throat. Neither of them noticed the wide, terrified eyes that watched them.

"What are you doing?!" The Doctor struggled against the Slab's hold, thrashing.

Miss Finnegan smiled, the look on her face sickeningly cruel with delight. "I'm afraid this is going to hurt. But if it's any consolation, the dead don't tend to remember." And she was upon him, stabbing a straw on his neck.

Valerie blinked, the reality of the situation dawning on her as her eyes catch sight of the Doctor. The latter was slack against the Slab's hold, at the mercy of the plasmavore who was sucking on his blood. She stood up quickly, blood rushing to her head as she stumbled forward, lunging towards the woman.

"Get your hands off of him, you blood-sucking old bag!"

Miss Finnegan turned, eyes widening but the Slab intervened, dropping the Doctor to ground. It grabbed her arms, slamming her against the wall. As if on cue, the door slammed opened and the Judoon marched in, too late to see Miss Finnegan shoving her straw into her bag. The Slab dropped Valerie who clawed at her throat, wheezing for air.

"Now see what you've done?" Miss Finnegan gasped, taking role of an innocent old lady. "This poor man just died of fright."

Valerie narrowed her eyes at her, spitting at her. "Oh, fuck you!"

The Judoon hardly seemed fazed and gestured to his comrades. "Scan him!"

The crew were set to work, brandishing their devices as they flashed it on the Doctor. Martha rushed in, spotting Valerie slumped against the wall. She scurried over to her, fussing for the younger woman. The latter paid no heed for Martha, however, her eyes dead set on the Doctor. Valerie knew that the Doctor would live, of course he would. He'd have to. But the feeling still struck her, grasping her heart as it pounded heavily against her ribcage, the suffocation finally taking ahold of her.

 _C'mon, C'mon, 'Doc,_ Valerie prayed, biting her lip. _This would be a really shitty dream if you died when you weren't supposed to._

"Confirmed: Deceased," the Judoon declared.

"No!" Valerie bristled angrily. She stood and marched towards them but she was held back by the Judoon. "Like hell, he is!" The cop rhinos didn't falter under the scrutiny of the five foot six woman, ignoring her cries to be near the Doctor. Martha, too, struggled against their hold, shouting.

"Stop," the Captain Judoon ordered. "Case closed."

"But it was her!" Martha shouted incredulously. "She killed him! She did it! She murdered him!"

"Judoon have no authority over Human crime."

"Oh, for fuck's sakes!" Valerie screeched, shoving a finger towards Miss Finnegan's way, completely forgetting that she was running out of air. "She's not human!"

Miss Finnegan smirked innocently, flashing her hand. "Oh, but I am, surely? I've been catalogued."

Valerie opened her mouth to retaliate, before she paused, remembering the scene prior to the Judoon's entrance. _That's right. She drank his blood._

"But she's not!" Martha protested. "She assimilated—!" She stopped, realization dawning her as she met Valerie's gaze. "Wait a minute. You drank his blood, the Doctor's blood?"

Valerie nodded, snatching the scanner off the Judoon's hand and pointed it at Miss Finnegan.

Miss Finnegan grinned, positively confident that she'll come off as Human. "Oh, I don't mind. Scan all you like."

Much to her surprise and Valerie's glee, the scanner released a high-pitched noise. The Judoon snapped into attention, gaze dead set on Miss Finnegan.

"Non-human!"

Miss Finnegan's eyes widened. "What?!"

The Captain Judoon turned to his squad. "Confirm analysis," he ordered and they brandished their own scanners, pointing at Miss Finnegan who squawked in panic.

"Oh, but it's a mistake, surely!" She bristled, desperate. "I'm Human! I'm as Human as they come—!"

"He gave his life so they'd find you," Martha cut in, glaring at her.

"Confirm: Plasmavore! Charged with the crime of murdering the child princess of Patrival Regency Nine," the Judoon declared, causing Miss Finnegan's personality to shift into one of a sneering witch.

"Well, she deserved it!" She said haughtily. "Those pink cheeks and those blonde curls and that simpering voice, oh, he was begging for the bite of a Plasmavore!" She snarled.

"Then you confess?"

Miss Finnegan scoffed. "Confess? I'm proud of it! Slab, stop them!" She bolted towards the booth for safety but the Slab stood no chance against the armed Rhinos and fell quickly at their hand.

"Verdict: Guilty. Sentence: Execution." After eliminating the Slab, the Judoon lumbered into the room, facing the glass of the control room as they raised their guns in a neat line.

Miss Finnegan jammed two circuits together, sneering at the Judoon. "Enjoy your victory, Judoon, 'cause you're going to burn with me. Burn in hell!"

Simultaneously, the Judoon fired, releasing red hot streaks that melted the glass windows. In an instant, Miss Finnegan was smothered with red light, succumbing to it as she burned into nothing, screaming as she went. The Judoon lowered their guns and as they did so, Valerie jumped and scurried over to the Doctor, Martha at her heels. Both of their faces were ones of remorse as they searched for ways to help him. Valerie racked her mind, trying to think of what had happened in the episode initially.

"Case closed." The Judoon grunted.

As if on cue, an arch of lightning spread across the room. The tunnel of the scanner was a hollow of a light-storm, spewing power everywhere.

"But what did she mean, burn with me?" Martha asked frantically, looking to the Judoon.

Valerie wheezed, fidgeting. "M-Miss Finnegan, she's done something to it."

One of the Judoon scanned the MRI. "Scans detect lethal acceleration of mono-magnetic pulse."

"Well, do something! Stop it!" Martha shrieked.

"Our jurisdiction has ended. Judoon will evacuate." The Judoon replied, unfazed by the turn of events.

Martha bristled. "What?! You can't just leave it! What's it going to do?"

They didn't answer her as the Captain whipped out a communication device. "All units! Withdraw!" The Judoon stomped out of the room, Martha scurrying after them.

"You can't go! That thing's going to explode and it's your fault!"

Her cries remained ignored, the Judoon lumbering out without sparing a glance at her. Martha slumped against the wall, a feeling of dread washing over her as she felt her mind whirl from the lack of air. Quickly, she straightened, hustling back into the room after taking a huge breath. The MRI was surrounded by wild strikes of lightning. The intern rushed over to Valerie, noting the younger woman's erratic breathing.

"Valerie! Are you alright?" Martha asked, concerned.

The brunette shook her head fervently, gesturing to the Doctor. "I'm fine!" She panted out. "I'll do breathes, you do compressions!" Ignoring her pounding heart, Valerie pinched the Doctor's nose and opened his mouth with her free hand, covering his mouth as she breathed deeply into it as she possibly could. _You know,_ Valerie thought aloud, feeling dizzy. _I_ _t's probably not the best idea to let the person with mild asthma do the breathes... Then again... I'm kissing the Doctor!_ She felt herself blush before she shook her head, berating herself. Valerie glanced at Martha who was pumping his chest, noticing the lightheaded look that glazed over her eyes and the sweat that dripped down her neck.

 _To me, it's just a dream so if I ever, like, pass out, it's okay,_ Valerie continued her task, the heat of her cheeks blazing at every contact of the lips. _But to Martha and the Doctor, it's real to them._ Having made her decision, she looked over at Martha. "Martha, Martha," she spoke, garnering the woman's attention. She frowned at the glazed look she had. "Rest. Take it easy, Jones."

Martha spluttered, remembering Valerie's own erratic breathing. "B-but—!"

"Shush," Valerie interrupted her, giving her a final look. "It's okay, I'll be fine but you won't be if you keep at it. So, rest, Jones."

Defeated, Martha nodded and let out a heavy sigh, leaning against the wall in exhaustion, eyes closing.

Mission accomplished, Valerie took in a deep breath as she placed her hands over the Doctor's chest. "Let's best hope that I remembered my First Aid, eh, 'Doc?" She whispered before she started pumping on his left heart. _One, two, three, four, five._ She leaned down and breathed into him. Moving unto his right, she repeated her actions. _One, two, three, four, five._ Valerie felt her eyes water, her lungs burning at the lack of air as she leaned down, breathing into him. She repeated her actions, moving unto autopilot as she bit her lip hard, garnering blood.

 _I swear to god, if he dies, I'm flipping tables. What a shitty dream,_ Valerie swore inwardly, seeing black spots appear in her vision. _Oh, fuck, oh, fuck! No, no, not yet!_ The young brunette can feel her cheeks flush with exhaustion, feeling the air get thinner and thinner with each moment passed. Inhaling heavily, she duck down and crashed her lips against his, giving him all the air she had left.

As though God had answered her prayers, the Doctor breathed, eyes blinking. Still in deep pain, he was still slightly out of it, judging by the dazed look that glossed over his face. Valerie grinned wearily in relief and triumph, her hand warm as the Doctor grasped it.

"'Doc, she, she, did somethin'—"

With one last hurrah, she let go and succumbed to the suffocation, passing out promptly beside the Doctor.

It took everything in him to simply sit up. He grunted against the stinging ache, reaching over to brush away the dark strands that covered Valerie's face. "Thank you." He whispered silently before he spotted the scanner, brimming with energy. Gritting his teeth to fight against the pain, he hauled himself towards the control room. Watching the blue electricity crackle, he reached into his pocket only to wince. His screwdriver was gone.

Not quite in the right state of mind, the Doctor snatched a messy bunch of circuit and wires. He eyed the two thick wires, one blue and one red.

"Red or blue... Red or blue..." He muttered to himself. "Oh, blue." He paused and shook his head, ripping out the red wire.

The tunnel died down, resuming to normal as the lights flickered. The Doctor panted heavily, pleased that one problem was solved. He glanced over at his two companions who were passed out on the floor. Stumbling over, he grabbed them by the waist and held them up against his body. Pointedly, the Doctor ignored the aches as he hauled themselves out into the corridor. He wheezed, face pale as he looked over a window, spotting the Judoon ships flying away, one by one.

"Come on, come on, come on, come on, please. Come on, Judoon, reverse it." The Doctor murmured, waiting.

As if on cue, there was a flash of lightning and rain dripped against the window, submerging the hospital in steady, constant rain.

The Doctor grinned, glancing down at the young brunette on his right. "It's raining, Val. It's raining on the moon."

A blinding white light flashed through the window and the Royal Hope Hospital finally returned its place in London.

* * *

The Doctor lead Valerie who was still a bit out of it towards a back door. With the hectic commotion, no one even spared the two a passing glance. The Doctor had his arm wrapped around her shoulders as he kept her steady at his side. He looked around and spotted Martha watching them with a smile. He patted Valerie's shoulder, garnering her attention and he pointed at Martha, both waving at the intern. Although neither of them stopped moving.

Valerie can't help but feel giddy, the Doctor was leading her to the TARDIS. She was going to be _inside_ the TARDIS. How exciting is that? Time and Space, with the Doctor. _Oh, what a dream,_ Valerie thought as she glanced at the Doctor who opened the door for her.

"After you," he smiled cheekily.

"Why, thank you, kind sir." Valerie teased, doing a mock curtsy, going inside.

The Doctor grinned excitedly, waiting to see Valerie's expression. When he first met Valerie, the young woman had already stepped into the TARDIS and didn't have the same reaction as most of his companions had. He had anticipated yet dreaded the moment Valerie would step into the TARDIS. He watched, with fond amusement at the amazed look that glossed over her face. Her pretty, hazel eyes bulged out of her head as she whipped her head around. Her mouth was agaped and wide opened, opening and closing like a fish in water. She was shaking, with what, the Doctor didn't know but one thing was clear; Valerie Renae Sargent was awed and that was enough for him.

"Holy shit," Valerie breathed out, blown away by the TARDIS. By its sheer size on the inside to its design, the console brimmed with gold and jade light, lightning the room in a unique gold. "Oh my god."

"Language," the Doctor scolded lightly.

"Oh, shit, sorry," Valerie said sheepishly, rubbing her neck earning a sigh from the Doctor before the reality of the situation struck her. The brunette whirled around to face him, her eyes permanently stuck in its wide-eyed form. "She's, she's," Valerie stuttered, searching for words to describe the sentient machine. "Gorgeous." She settled and repeated it with finality. "Absolutely gorgeous."

The TARDIS glowed, humming in appreaction, startling the barista.

"Oh my god, did she just—?!" She looked at him, bouncing around in childish delight and the Doctor laughed, nodding.

"Yes, yes she did."

Valerie laughed, a boisterous and loud sound. "God, what a dream!" She blurted out, grinning away before she paused, realizing what she just said and slapped her hand against her mouth. _Oh, shit._ She turned to the Doctor whose face had fallen into one of bitter expectancy, as though he was anticipating those words. Her brows furrowed in confusion as she spluttered out. "I mean—I, uh—"

He sighed, cutting her off. "Oh, Val," he said in a resigned tone. "Valerie. There's something I have to tell you."

The young woman blinked. "What is it?" She asked, feeling a bit of dread.

"I know that you, you think this is a dream." He said, startling her.

 _How does he know?_ Valerie thought. "I, I, don't know what you mean—"

The Doctor continued on. "Your future self told me that you originally thought of this as a dream, appearing at Royal Hope, meeting me, etc." He stepped towards her, his eyes solemn. "But it's not. I'm sorry, Valerie, but this whole thing is real. The Judoon, the Plasmavore, me, the TARDIS, Martha, all of it. All of it is real."

Valerie shook her head fervently, looking at him incredolously. "W-what? No, no way, this whole thing's just a—"

"A show?" He ended, smiling bitterly. "I'm so so sorry, Val, but it's not."

"How? How can it not be?" Valerie looked at him with wide eyes, backing into the TARDIS console. The Doctor's eyes widened, opening his mouth but it was too late. With a simple touch against the console, Valerie doubled over, her head ringing in pain as she clutched it. His eyes softened, noticing the golden aura that took ahold of her form

The Doctor rushed over, panicked. "Val. Val. Valerie, look at me, look at me," he said, grasping her face into his hands and lifting it gently. He kissed her forehead, noticing the fear that came upon her face. "Oh, Val. My sweet, fierce, Valerie. You will be okay, I promise, okay?"

Valerie trembled against his hold, hissing in pain. "'Doc. Doctor, what's happening? What's going on?" She can feel her heart rise in panic, noticing the golden glow that took ahold of her form. _What the hell is this? What's happening?_ Valerie, for the life of her, never felt true pain before. Since she was born, she has never experienced a broken bone, a severe sprain or anything beyond a cold or a fever. But this, oh god, even if she had felt either of those before, this trumped it all. The pain was nothing like she experienced, it was excruciating and it tugged and pulled at her senses. Valerie felt nothing and everything all at once.

 _No, no, no, this isn't right!_ Valerie screamed inwardly. _This is a dream! A delusion! A thought-up fantasy my fangirl mind made up! This is not real! There's no such thing as the Doctor or the TARDIS or the Judoon! It's a fucking TV Show, for fuck's sake!_

The Time Lord frowned heavily, his hearts breaking at the sight. "You will meet another me. Perhaps myself in the future or in the past. Either way, I need you to promise me." He paused, waiting.

"Promise what?" Valerie bit her lip, eyes watering as the golden aura brightened.

The Doctor's lips curled into a reassuring smile, kissing her forehead once more. "To trust me."

And she was gone.

* * *

 **A/N: This marks the end of Smith and Jones and Sargent! Every time I get a notification that this story got a new favourite, new follower, new review, etc. It makes me smile everytime and I'm so glad that you guys took the time to read this story and joining me in making Valerie.**

 **Before I end this chapter, I want to clarify something. Valerie does watch Doctor Who. She's a massive fan of it. She knows most things but let it be said that she's incredibly forgetful especially about little details. Also, Valerie would have a hard time knowing what's going on with Ten, Nine and Twelfth's adventure considering that her most recent watch the Eleventh.**

 *** - Allonsy: French for "Let's go"**

 **** - Bien sur: French for "Of course"**

 **(WARNING: USED GOOGLE TRANSLATE)**

 **If you guys have any questions; feel free to ask! Although I can't guarantee an answer.**

 **REVIEWS:**

 **KittyCatKate: I'm glad you like it so far and that you think! ;)))**

 **yellowroseofthenw: hahahah hint hint nudge nudge ;))) who knows? And thank you so much! I really appreciate it. Oh, I know the feeling! Although there are some fantastic stories like this one in fanfiction. Ever read _Alexander Holmes-The Seer and Changer of Time_? or the one about Kari Conner? I can't recall the title but both of them are fantastic writes. Although my very favourite has got to be _The Dread of Tomorrow and Yesterday_. It's part of a big inspiration of mine. As far as I'm concerned, they're all active. I hope I can meet up your expectations!**

 **Barrentine: You'll find that Valerie does have some interesting reactions and I'm glad to hear that you liked her little comment! She's a bit of a sailor, I'm afraid. Thank you so much for your support!**

 **srirachacha: Fortunately, she finally got it out behind the scenes! I had this scene in mind before I scratched it out. Anyways, thank you so much and I'm really happy that you thought so!**

 **LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH! THANK YOUU!**

 **NEXT UP: THE TIME OF ANGELS**


	4. A Town Called Mercy: Greetings

**FOR THE TIME BEING**

* * *

"We are, as a species, addicted to story. Even when the body goes to sleep, the mind stays up all night, telling itself stories."

— Jonathan Gottschall, _The Storytelling Animal: How Stories Make Us Human (via giardinonymphe)_

* * *

In a bright flash of light, Valerie stumbled through, dust kicking up on her eyes. She let out a curse, hissing at the brimming sun that hit her vision. She plops down, sweating heavily as the sun's heat beats down on her coat and thick clothing. Hastily, she removed her trench coat, wrapping it up at her arms. Tentatively, she stood, eyes squinting as she surveyed her surroundings.

Valerie gaped, a sense of dread filling her as she whipped her head around. At the sight of nothing but sand and a few scarce vegetation, Valerie let out an incomprehensible noise. Gripping her coat tighter to her chest, she paced around her area, wondering on what she was going to do.

Somehow, someway, she was enveloped in some sort of bright light and was transported from the Tenth Doctor's TARDIS to some wasteland desert. Had it not been the Doctor's earlier words, Valerie would've easily chalked it up as her mind's fucked-up imagination but now, she wasn't so sure. In her time with Martha and the Doctor in the Moon, the instances of pain and the lack of breath felt eerily real and the deaths of Dr. Stoker and that Plasmavore were far too realistic to be something her mind conjured up from the show. But even then, how did she even manage to get to Royal Hope Hospital anyways? In the Doctor's universe nonetheless? From what she could recall, she had been at home, eying at the crack on her wall...

Valerie paused her pacing, realization dawning on her. Earlier, she had mentioned the crack being eerily familiar, especially with its glow and shape. But she had shrugged it off, chalking it up to being the apartment place's worn down cracks that had gone far too big. With hindsight, Valerie came to conclude that she was wrong in that regard. Anyways, the moment she had touched that very crack, Valerie fell unconscious with a booming headache and woke up at Royal Hope. The same could be said about earlier, when she was transported from the TARDIS to the desert, adding the bright light.

It all made sense, the points were all there and connected. Finally, she scoffed at the very thought, shaking her head roughly. _Please._ Falling through a crack on her wall, appearing at Royal Hope in a different universe, meeting the Doctor, etc. That sounded like something out of fiction, written by some obsessed fan girl who couldn't let go of her own yearning for travels in the stars.

 _What was I thinking?_ Valerie huffed, pulling her hair up into a loose bun. _This is just a dream. No matter what the Doctor says. I mean, he IS in the dream, after all. Of course he would say something like that._ With that in mind, Valerie tugged on the collar of her blouse, unwrapping her coat so she could use to cover head from the sun's rays. She looked around, wondering which way was North.

"Now, where to go?" She muttered before she opted to walk ahead, trudging on. "Fuck my life."

* * *

A small, thin blur of beige and black bolted through across the desert, heading straight to a small town a few ways away. Valerie whimpered as she panted heavily, forcing herself to push through. In the back of her mind, she could hear the small whooshing of noise from behind her and it sent her heart pumping in paranoia. Pointedly ignoring her shortness of breath, aching legs and burning throat, Valerie stretched her legs out as long as she could as she ran.

 _God, whatever the hell that is, I ain't taking any chances with it!_ She cried out inwardly, terrified out of her mind. She could feel something, _someone_ , was behind her and it only made her increase her pace. Thankfully enough, the town's ringing noise and small chatter were only a few feet away and in a desperate attempt, Valerie dived forward. She rolled awkwardly, hissing at the sticks and stones that prick at her skin before she landed on her back, her coat flying astray a few ways away from her.

She sat up, grunting at the little twinges of pain as she met the eyes of her pursuer. Through her half-lidded eyes, she can see that it was man but yet, not really. What with the mechanical arm and an eyeball that was beyond the town's technology, if its architecture was anything to go by. Valerie wheezed, watching him/it disappear with a whooshing sound.

"God..." She held up a hand to her heart, rubbing her chest. "What...the... _fuck_...was...that?" The young girl relaxed, running a hand through her hair, tugging lightly at the bun which was barely holding on. Only to tense at the noise of a cocking of a gun behind her.

Valerie whipped her head around, finding herself eye to eye with a barrel of a gun.

 _Oh shit, oh shit._

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" The man demanded, waving his shotgun lightly.

In light of her adrenaline, Valerie started laughing, the voice high-pitched and wavering as she wheezed through each snort. The man blinked, startled by her outburst and stared at her as though she was some nut-case on the streets. Which, in this case, she suppose she is.

"Again, who are you and what are you doing here?" The stranger repeated, narrowing his eyes at her.

As her laughter died down, Valerie coughed, shaking. "V-Valerie," she stuttered out, clearing her throat. "Valerie Sargent."

"What are you doing here?" He asked again.

"Got lost on the desert," she explained, feeling her eyes water at the sun. "Found your town, some weird guy started chasing me." She looked around, noticing people slowly trickling out of the small buildings. She lifted her hazel eyes back at the man before her, all too aware of how scratchy and dry her throat was. "Hey, mind putting the gun down and fetching me some water?"

The man shot her a conflicted look and she took the time to observe the man. By the simple glance at his chest, where a golden star badge laid close, it was easy to assume that he was the Sheriff. He stared at the brunette long and hard before he let out a sigh, turning to a random man nearby.

"Hey, get this young miss a glass of water, will 'ya, James?" The man named James nodded before scurrying off to a building.

Turning back to her, the Sheriff tucked his gun into his holster and held his hand out to her. "Sorry, Ma'am, I hope you can understand that this town ain't very safe right now. Inside or out." He nodded towards the entrance, where the cyborg had been just moments ago.

Valerie shook her head, taking his hand as he hoisted her up. "It's okay."

"Name's Isaac. I'm the Sheriff." He introduced, running a hand through his hair. "You're not from here, I take it?"

The brunette smiled anxiously. "No, I don't even know where I am, actually." She admitted truthfully, dusting the dirt off her worn coat.

He sent her a sympathetic look. "Well, uh, welcome to Mercy," he said, gesturing around him. "Unfortunately, ma'am, we can't help 'ya if you're planning to leave this town. It's hard to when we're sorta trapped here ourselves with that, whatever that is."

Valerie's smile faltered and she silently wondered on what exactly she was going to do. "Oh, no, I totally understand. It's fine, yeah."

Isaac took note of that and quickly added, uncomfortable by the damping of her mood. "But, uh, you're welcome to stay! We don't have much but we can't really turn 'ya away."

The brunette let out a sigh of relief, inclining her head in thanks before she furrowed her eyebrows. "Uh, I hope you don't mind me asking but..."

The Sheriff rose an eyebrow and gestured a 'go-ahead'. "Shoot."

"What year is it? And where am I...?"

Isaac shot her a look. "Oh, uh, this the Town of Mercy, Nevada and it's the year 1870."

It took everything for Valerie to not blanche and start crying right then and there. "Okay. Cool. Thanks." _What the hell?_

* * *

Valerie sighed, adjusting the collar of her dress as it hangs low. She was wearing a simple, western-styled bar maid outfit with white ruffles for sleeves and a dark brown vest to keep her dress up right. Which, in all things considered, wasn't really helping much. Unlike the majority of the women here, Valerie lacked the average sized C-cups. Thus, she was forced to suffer through adjusting the collars every five minutes or so or she'd risk exposing her bra like some doxy. It's been a couple of weeks since she's came here and yet there was no sign of the Doctor anywhere.

As she wiped down the tables idly, she started to wonder if the Doctor really was going to appear. Valerie, for the life of her, couldn't recall the episode an episode that's set in Nevada, 1870. Although, the Doctor was bound to come in sooner or later. Despite the fact that it was the 1870s, the small town of Mercy was already using electricity. Which was really weird because last she checked, electricity wouldn't come into play for another decade. Another factor that told Valerie that the Doctor would appear was the weird, gunslinger, cyborg man that chased her down in the desert. Speaking of the cyborg, according to one of the townsfolk, he was looking for an alien who calls himself _Doctor_ which rose some eyebrows.

 _Coincidence? I think not._

With a heavy sigh, the brunette finished her chore and moved over to behind the bar, humming to the music as she fiddled with her apron.

"Valerie, be a darlin' and get me a glass of bourbon, would 'ya?" A man yelled from across the room, earning an anxious smile and nod from the brunette.

With that, Valerie did as asked, too zoned out to take note of the ceasing of music and chatter. All she could hear were footsteps approaching her from behind but she didn't bother to turn then and simply asked in a monotone voice.

"What can I get you?"

"Tea. But the strong stuff. Leave the bag in," a gruff voice replied and Valerie turned, a glass of bourbon in hand.

"Sure, not a problem—" Valerie paused, catching a man attempting to flip a toothpick but it got stuck, it seems. He has floppy brown hair and age old green eyes. He was wearing a tweed jacket, paired with a red bow tie and suspenders. "...Doctor?" She muttered out, recognizing the man as the Eleventh Doctor.

The man blinked multiple times, pulling out the toothpick. Then, he beamed brightly, a childish grin on his face. "Val! Hello!" He leaned forward.

"Is that Valerie?" Amy piped in from behind, pushing the Doctor aside, earning a pout from the man. "Hey!"

"Hi, V," Rory waved idly.

The brunette smiled, albeit awkwardly. "Hello," she simply said, earning confused looks from the trio in front of her.

Before any of them could ask her anything, however, a preacher stood up. "Sir, might I inquire who you is?"

The Doctor turned, smiling at him. "Of course. I am the Doctor, and this is—" He gestured to his companions but he was cut-off as everyone in the bar straightened, standing up at the mention of the word _Doctor_. Valerie's hazel eyes darted around the saloon, biting her lip nervously as the reality of the situation dawned on her. _Oh, shit._

"No need to stand." The Time Lord blinked, a tad startled but his smile widened nonetheless. He turned to Amy and Rory. "You see that? Manners."

Another man walked up to the Doctor, measuring his shoulders. The Doctor turned to him, pleasantly confused. "Oh, thank you but I don't need a new suit."

"I'm the undertaker, sir." The man promptly replied and the Doctor hummed, his words not sinking in.

Then understanding dawned on him but before he could inquire as to why he was measuring his shoulders, another man spoke up.

"I got a question. Is you an alien?"

"Well, um..." The Doctor trailed off, a bit taken aback by the sudden question. "Bit personal. It's all relative, isn't it? I mean, I think _you're_ the aliens. But in this context, yes. Yes, I suppose I am."

Behind him, Valerie slapped a hand to her forehead, watching as the people lunged at the Doctor. She let out a startled yell, coming out from behind the bar but the people were already hoisting him up, leading him out of the saloon to the line of rocks and wood. Some of the others grabbed Amy and Rory along the way too, the couple protesting heavily. The brunette quickly followed them, watching as the people quickly threw the Doctor over the line. He stood, groaning and turned back to the town. He was bewildered to find the townsfolk pointing their weapons his way, ceasing him in his tracks.

"Hey, hey!" Valerie rushed forward, standing in between the Doctor and the civilians, waving her arms frantically. "No need to wave your guns about!" _Where the hell is Isaac?_

A man glared at her. "Don't think just 'cause we took 'ya in, Ma'am, that we won't kill 'ya." He said, shaking his gun in a threatening manner.

With his arms raised up in surrender, the Doctor glared at the man who threatened Valerie. "Oi! Don't you dare threaten her."

The man took a step back as Valerie blinked. Both startled by the looming look that took over the Doctor's face.

The preacher's eyes widened in dread, eyes dead set on a teleporting figure that came closer and closer each time. "He's comin'. Oh, _God_. He's comin'."

His words garnered the Doctor's attention and the Time Lord turned, spotting the Gunslinger approaching in bursts of teleportation.

"Preacher... Say something," a young man said and the preacher began to pray, in hopes that the cyborg would spare him and his fellow folk.

"Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done..."

As the preacher prayed, the Doctor felt panic rise in him and he took a step closer over the line but hesitated, the men refusing to lower their weapons. Suddenly, a loud gunshot was fired, catching everyone's attention and all eyes went to the newcomer.

Valerie let out a sigh of relief, seeing Isaac flashing his badge. "Oh, thank fucking God."

Amy snorted, lightly scolding her. "Language."

"You. Bow tie," the Sheriff waved his gun at the Doctor who pointed at himself for affirmation. "Get back across that line. Now."

The Doctor didn't hesitate, stepping over the line and the Gunslinger paused in his trackers before disappearing. The young man from earlier, the one who questioned the Doctor, frowned at Isaac, unsatisfied that the Doctor was spared.

"Isaac, he said he was a doctor. An alien doctor."

Isaac scoffed, as though in disbelief at the man's words."That a reason to hand him to his death?"

"But, Isaac, it could be him!" He protested, spluttering.

"You know it ain't," Isaac shot back before he promptly turned and walked away, nodding at Amy and Valerie. "Ma'ams."

The Doctor brushed off the dust and dirt off himself, straightening his jacket, acting as though he wasn't scared out of his wits just moments earlier. He shot the townsfolk a look before he followed after Isaac, grabbing Valerie's hand along the way. Amy and Rory gave each other knowing expressions before they followed after them, leaving some of the residents unpleased by the turn of events.

* * *

 **[THE DOCTOR'S POINT OF VIEW]**

* * *

The Sheriff lead them into his office, which was consisted of a little desk and a jail cell off to the side of the room. The Doctor looked around before his gaze landed on the short brunette at his right. It was clear to him that she was young, very early in her timeline if her long, black hair and the confused and jittery look in her eyes was saying anything. Silently, he wondered when in his timeline did she just come from. Deciding that he'll ask her later, he turned his eyes to the Sheriff.

"What was that outside?"

"The Gunslinger," Isaac replied solemnly, leaning on his desk. "owed up three weeks back. We've been prisoners ever since. You see that borderline, stretching round the town? Woke up one morning, there it was. Nothing gets past it, in or out. No supply wagons, no reinforcements. Pretty soon, the whole town's going to starve to death."

"But... he let _us_ in," Rory pointed out, gesturing to the three of them.

"You ain't carrying any food, just three more mouths to feed. We'll all die even sooner now," the Sheriff said bluntly, face grim.

"What happens if someone crosses the line?" The Doctor asked curiously, catching a black stetson Isaac tossed his way. "Ah, well..." He mumbled, putting a finger through the bullet hole. "He wasn't a very good shot then."

Valerie shook her head, making a face at the hat. "Nah, 'Doc. He was aiming for the hat."

The Doctor's eye widened, horrified. "He shoots people's hats?!"

Isaac, finally noticing the close proximity between the four of them, spoke up. "'Y'know 'em, Sargent?"

The brunette paused before she nodded. "Yeah, they're with me." The Doctor rose an eyebrow at that, noticing the brief hesitation in her posture.

 **"** What does he want? The Gunslinger, I mean." Amy questioned, grabbing the hat from the Doctor before she handed it back to Rory who simply tossed it back to Isaac."Has he issued some kind of demand?"

"He says he wants us to give him 'the alien doctor'." Isaac supplied as Rory and Amy turned to the Doctor.

"But that's you. Why would he want to kill you?" Amy asked before she quickly retracted her words, wincing slightly. "Unless he's met you."

"And how could he know we'd be here?" Rory added in, raising an eyebrow before he leaned over to Valerie, whispering. "We didn't even know we'd be here."

The redhead huffed, turning to Isaac with a smile. "We were aiming for Mexico. The Doctor was taking us to see the Day of the Dead Festival."

Isaac snorted. "Mexico's two hundred miles due south."

Valerie sniggered, sending the Doctor a _seriously?_ look. The Doctor pouted at her in response, grumbling.

The Doctor glanced up, noticing the lights flicker. "Well, that's what happens when people get toast crumbs on the console," he retorted, shooting sour looks at the couple. "Anyway, I think it's about time I met him, don't you?"

"Who?" Isaac asked, feigning ignorance as the Doctor leaned against the railing.

"The chap outside said I could be the alien doctor, but you said I wasn't. So you already know who it is. Two alien Doctors! We're like buses," The Doctor grinned, beginning to ramble. "Resident eighty-one, I presume. So beloved by the townsfolk, he warranted an alteration to the sign. Probably because he rigged up these electrics. And I'm guessing he's in here because if half the town suddenly wanted to throw me to my death..." He hops off the railing and heads over to the cell. "This is where I'd want to be."

Isaac narrowed his eyes, moving to stop the Doctor. "I don't know what you—"

A voice cut in, intercepting. "It's all right, Isaac. I think the time for subterfuge has passed," the figure in the bunk bed said, getting up from it. "Good afternoon. My name is Kahler-Jex. I'm the doctor. Isaac, if you would."

The Sheriff gave Jex a disgruntled look before he sighed, unlocking the cell door and revealing Jex.

The Doctor titled his head, his excitement growing at the mention of Jex's name. He took note of Jex's tattoo along the right side of his face, beaming at the alien. "The Kahler. I love the Kahler. They're one of the most ingenious species in the Galaxy," the Time Lord explained, turning to Valerie as he shook Jex's hand vigorously. He grinned. "Seriously, they could build a spaceship out of tupperware and moss!"

Valerie let out a low whistle as she looked between the Doctor and Jex. "Woah, seriously?"

The Doctor chuckled, loving the dazzled look in her hazel eyes. This was one of his favourite traits about Valerie, her interest in other things and her eagerness to learn is what make her so brilliant. He tugged unto her hand, startling her and he wrapped an arm around her shoulders in a friendly manner. It was clear to him how early this version of her was and he didn't dare act farther than he was supposed.

Amy shook her head, directing the conversation to its original topic, pushing the Doctor to sit down. "Alright. How did you get here?"

* * *

 **[VALERIE'S POINT OF VIEW]**

* * *

The moment Jex had stepped out of the cell, revealing himself in all his glory, that was when Valerie remembered. She tucked a stray strand behind her ear, narrowing her eyes at Jex. _I remember now, this episode._ Although she couldn't remember the finer details of _A Town Called Mercy_ , Valerie can vaguely remember the important bits of it. Inwardly, the young woman slapped herself on the head, wondering on how she hadn't recognized it sooner. The desert, Nevada 1870, Sheriff Isaac, the cyborg from earlier. _Holy fuck, that makes a lot of sense._

As Jex explained to the group for the reason of his stay at Mercy, Valerie racked through her mind. Jex had done something to the cyborg, which was the reason as to why the Gunslinger was dead set on killing him. _Now if I could just remember what it was... Oh._ Valerie felt her eyes narrow and her gaze landed on the Kahler doctor's form. Distaste tickled her tongue and it took everything for Valerie to not lash out and beat the poor man silly.

Suddenly, she felt eyes on her and she glanced up, meeting the Doctor's curious eyes. She smiled anxiously before promptly looking away.

"Listen to him, talkin' like it was nothing," Isaac scoffed, a smile on his face. "Tell them about the cholera." He said, slapping Jex on the back in a friendly manner.

Jex blushed humbly. "Now, Isaac, I'm sure our guest are—"

The Sheriff cut him off, eager to tell the the story. "Two years after he arrived, there was an outbreak of cholera. Thanks to the 'Doc here not a single person died."

"A minor infection we'd found a treatment for centuries ago," Jex elaborated modestly.

Isaac shook his head, pointing at the lights. "No, no, no. What do you call them? The lectricks?"

The Doctor glanced up at the lights as Jex explained. "Using my ship as a generator, I was able to rig up some rudimentary heating and lighting for the town."

Leaning forward, the Doctor asked curiously. "So why does the Gunslinger want you?"

"It don't matter." Isaac cut-in, refusing to throw Jex under the bus.

 **"** I'm just saying, if we knew..."

Inwardly, Valerie snorted, watching the three of them discuss. _God, if you knew..._

"America's a land of second chances," Isaac said. "We called this town Mercy for a reason. Others... Some round here don't feel that way."

"Now, Isaac, we've discussed this," Jex reprimanded him gently.

"People whose lives you saved are suddenly saying we should hand you over," The Sheriff objected.

"They're scared, that's all," Jex said, trying to make him understand. "You can hardly blame them."

Isaac looked at Jex. "Them being scared, scares me," he told him before he turned back to the Doctor, explaining. "War only ended five years back. That old violence is still under the surface. We give up 'Doc Jex, then we're handing the keys of the town over to chaos."

"Did you try to repair your craft?" The Doctor questioned. "Surely someone with your skills..."

"It really was very badly damaged."

Behind her hand, Valerie sneered. _Nah, you're just too scared of Death to face it properly._

The Doctor smiled, standing up. "We evacuate the town. Our ship's just over the hills. Room for everyone," he turned to face his companions, plopping himself down on the desk. "I'll pop out, bring it back here. Robert's your uncle."

Amy looked at him dubiously. "Really? Simple as that? No crazy schemes? No negotiations?"

"I've matured. I'm 1,200 years old now. Plus, I don't want to miss _The Archers_ ," the Doctor said idly, picking up the Stetson as he headed for the door.

Valerie smiled, knowing full well that despite his words, the Doctor was too curious to let something go so easily.

The redhead scoffed, sharing a disbelieving look with Valerie. "Oh, so you're not even a tiny bit curious?"

"Why would I be curious? It's a mysterious space cowboy assassin," the Doctor scoffed. "Curious? Of course I'm not curious." With that, he stepped out.

Rory bent down, whispering. "He's curious, isn't he?"

The younger woman scoffed. "Obviously."

"Son?" Isaac called out, grabbing the Doctor's attention. "You've still got to get past the Gunslinger. How you going to do that?" He pointed out with a raised eyebrow.

The Doctor smirked, plopping the stetson on his head. "With a little sleight of hand." With those final words, he stepped back outside.

Rory and Amy looked at each other with dubious looks, before Amy leaned over to Valerie. "Is he seriously gonna let this go?" She asked, startling the girl.

The brunette shrugged, an amused grin curling on her lips as she followed after him. "Nah."

* * *

 **A/N: Yeah, I lied. It's not _Time of the Angels_ , but I instead opted for A Town Called Mercy. I decided not to hurl Valerie into the thick of the action quite yet, it wouldn't be fair to both her and the Doctor when Valerie still thinks that all of this is a dream. Although, I promise you, by next chapter she'll figure it out. Sooner or later. Hopefully sooner. Anyways, thank you all so much for the lovely reviews, follows, and favourites! I've also decided on a more stable update schedule; So from now on, I'll be updating once every week on either Friday, Saturday or Sunday.**

 **REPLIES**

 **To KittyCatKate:** Thank you! I'm glad that you think so! That's fascinating that both of our characters have the same name lOOL and yes, she is a bit young, isn't she? She's just on her third (or was it fourth?) year of University. Ah, yes, her reactions are bit more vulgar and a lot more open in hopes that I'd gain for substance in her character and not make her a doormat OC. Thank you again and hope you have a good day!

 **To SeleneAlice:** I'm happy to know that you're eager to read more! Thank you for taking the time to read this story of mine.


	5. A Town Called Mercy: The Deluded

**FOR THE TIME BEING**

* * *

"She had lost herself in the continuum of time, and forgotten where her dream ended and his reality began."

— **Brie**

* * *

"When did you just come from, Val?" The Doctor asked, pulling Valerie aside the moment she stepped out of the Sheriff's office.

Valerie titled her head. The question was calm, as though he has asked it multiple times on multiple occasions. Despite the composed look on his face, there was a look of expectancy and a tad bit of fear. As though he was waiting for a bad answer and yet, at the same time, hoping for the one he was waiting for. His question spoke volumes of what happens between the two of them. That their adventures together went beyond Royal Hope Hospital and a small western town.

 _For a dream, this has a lot of depth to it,_ she thought idly as she answered the Doctor. "Royal Hope Hospital with the Tenth you and Martha Jones."

The Doctor's face fell before it brightened again, as though the small twitch of his lips never happened. "Oh? That means this is your... second trip..." He trailed off and earlier's expression returned in its forlorn glory. "Oh."

The young woman nodded, brows furrowing at his upset frown. "Yes and this is my first time meeting this you." She added. _And hopefully my last._ Valerie hope that she wasn't sleeping in at this very moment. She'd hate to miss her morning classes because she was dreaming about being the Doctor's companion.

The Doctor straightened. "I see!" He beamed, gesturing to his face with a cheeky smile. "What do you think?"

"Of what?"

"My face, of course!"

A number of words breezed through her mind, each one dirtier and more inappropriate than the last. Valerie blushed. "Cute, yeah."

"Come on!" The Doctor pouted before he wiggled his eyebrows, leaning forward. "I'm pretty handsome, aren't I?"

"If you say so, 'Doc." she replied teasingly, sniggering.

The Time Lord bristled mockingly, about to retort when a throat cleared loudly, garnering their attention. The two turned, meeting the unimpressed eyes of one Amelia Pond. The redhead looked at them with raised eyebrows, frowning deeply with her arms crossed and her foot tapping.

"Is this really the time to be flirting, you two?" Amy scolded, annoyed but not at all surprised, as if this happens all the time. "There's a Cyborg out there and you two are _flirting_?"

Valerie's cheeks warmed considerably as the brunette looked away with her hands on her cheeks. "Sorry." She mumbled out, feeling a bit sheepish and a tad guilty. _We weren't flirting, were we?_

The Doctor was taken for, as far as she can remember. If not by River Song, then by Rose Tyler. Both women held a respective place in the Time Lord's hearts. Valerie had no intention of destroying that, considering the fact that she shipped the Doctor and River Song very heavily. A saucy, sexy woman who meets the Doctor in the wrong order? Fantastic. Valerie would ship the hell out of it.

The brunette glanced tentatively at the man, noticing the displeased frown he shot at the redhead. Amy looked back at him with a _what are you gonna do about it?_ look. Then, he grumbled and walked away, leaving the two women by themselves.

"How early are you?" Amy piped up, startling the brunette out of her thoughts.

Valerie furrowed her eyebrows. "What do you mean?"

"Like," Amy gestured, unsure on how to word this. "Oh, forget it. When were you last?"

 _Oh. Oh!_ "With the Tenth Doctor and another companion of his," Valerie replied, fiddling with her apron. "Second time seeing him and first time meeting this him." She elaborated, seeing the blank look Amy shot her.

"So, this is your first time meeting me and Rory, then?" The redhead questioned, nodding her head towards the Sheriff's office.

"Yeah."

"Really early, then."

Valerie nodded, humming as she followed Amy into the office.

* * *

Valerie took off her braid before she redid them again, slowly weaving the strands together. Meanwhile, as Amy, Valerie and Jex waited patiently in the Sheriff's office. Meanwhile, as the Doctor had gone out to fix Jex's ship, Rory and Isaac went off to distract the Gunslinger. Truth be told, Valerie felt a bit uncomfortable being in the same room as the man who experimented on his own species. During the couple of moments to herself, she thought about the episode this dream was set in and what happens next. She frowned to herself, remembering that something was going to happen. A big moment for the Doctor but yet it couldn't one that proved significancy in her own opinion considering that she could hardly remember it. Then again, ever since the Hospital on the Moon, she's been having a very hard time remembering things nowadays.

The young brunette hardly paid any attention when Amy pulled Jex into a conversation. She was too deep in thought about things. The episode, her dream, what she was going to do when she wakes up, etc. The last few weeks, she spent most of that time thinking the same things through over and over. And each time, they would begin with a simple; _What if this is real and the Doctor's real and so is everyone else?_ And each time, it ended with; _God, no, you're delusional, Sargent. Of course, it's not real_. The cycle then would repeat for days on end. Even now, with the Doctor and Amy and Rory and the Kahler's situation, her mind was filled with her own dubiety.

"What about you?" Amy's voice pulled Valerie out of her thoughts. "Are you a father?" She asked Jex, curiously.

"Yes. In a way, I suppose I am." Jex replied with a distant look in his eyes. The Kahler turned to Valerie, a friendly smile on his face. "How about yourself, Valerie?"

"Oh, no. God, no." Vehemently, Valerie shook her head. "I'm only twenty-three, just in the middle of earning my doctorate degree." She explained, smiling slightly.

Jex rose an eyebrow, intrigued. "Is that so? What are you studying in, if I may ask?"

"Astrophysics," both Amy and Valerie replied, the redhead earning a startled glance from the younger girl. _How does she know that?_ Valerie thought, nose scrunching up in confusion. This dream, although proved a bit more in-depth than most, was becoming too realistic. There were too many details all at once and Valerie couldn't get the sense out of it.

Valerie turned to Amy, confused. "How did you—?"

A loud alarm blared, capturing the trio's attention and effectively cutting her off. Valerie pursued her lips in annoyance, sharing perplexed looks with Amy before the red rushed out of the office. Jex and Valerie at her heels as they stepped out of the main doors.

"Troublesome," Valerie grumbled under her breath, tying her braid tightly before letting it rest on her shoulder.

"That's the alarm on my ship!" Jex said, alarmed.

"Maybe the Doctor wants to get it working again," Amy suggested, noticing how upset the man looked.

"He's being nosy again." Valerie came up behind them, rolling her eyes. _Of course, when does that man ever leave things out?_

Amy snorted, nodding in agreement. "He's meddling."

"But that wasn't the plan," Jex pointed out. "He's not following the plan."

Valerie shot him an apologetic look. "Hate to break the news to you, man. But him? He never follows a plan."

"Don't I know it?" Amy sighed, exasperated. "Welcome to our world."

Jex frowned heavily, not saying a word before he scurried back inside. Amy went ahead to follow but Valerie grabbed her sleeve, stopping her tracks.

The redhead turned, raising an eyebrow at her. "What's up, V?"

"Let me go ahead." The young woman simply said, chewing on her lip, garnering a bewildered look from Amy.

"What? Why?" Valerie found it odd that Amy didn't seem to question the fact that _she_ was warning her, acting as though her little warning was more than a one-time thing. The brunette frowned as Amy gestured to the doors where Jex had gone, asking. "Is he dangerous?"

Valerie didn't answer and simply went ahead, leaving the redhead confused.

Realizing that she wasn't going to get much out of her, Amy sighed before she followed the younger woman. Only to find the barrel of the gun pointed Valerie. Jex stood, cocking the gun as he aimed it at her face.

"I'm sorry, Amy, Valerie. He really should have followed the plan." Jex stared at them, his gaze unblinking.

Amy shuffled, reaching out to grasps Valerie's hand tightly. "I guess that answers my question."

Valerie hummed, trembling slightly as she stared at the barrel of the gun. "I suppose it does."

Ensuring that the gun was pointed at them, Jex hurried to fill his pockets with the personal items from his cell. "Isaac says he doesn't care about my past. But things may have been uncovered that even he might struggle to forgive." He walked backwards to the door as both girls turned to him, wary that he would shoot. "So it's best we beat a hasty retreat."

Amy narrowed her eyes at him. "We? We're coming with you?"

"It's unlikely the Gunslinger will shoot if I'm with you," Jex explained. "As far as I can tell, he's programmed to take innocent lives only if absolutely necessary."

"Well, colour me reassured." Amy said sarcastically, shooting him a look.

Valerie snorted, pointedly ignoring her hands trembling. She was glad that Amy held one of her hands, it kept her steady and composed. She was never one for guns. Especially ones that were pointed at her or/and other people. Already, she can feel the surge of adrenaline and panic coursing through her veins as she narrowed her eyes at the man. The audacity of this man, thinking that he could get away from his crimes and repent them without redeeming himself to his victims, made her blood boil.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" She grunted, earning a scandalized look from Jex and a scolding one from Amy. She continued on, ignoring them. "While you're cowering away behind a town, Gunslinger's out there, hunting you down. And what are you doing? Running away to the next poor village that's gonna get in the crossfire. Are you _fucking_ kidding me." Inwardly, Valerie let out a horrified breath, thanking the heavens for how calm she sounded and cursing at herself for being _so_ stupid. Mocking the person holding you at gun point? Genius.

"Valerie." Amy warned, squeezing her hand as Jex narrowed his eyes at her

Valerie squeezed it hand reassuringly. _I need more time._ "Y'know, have you ever considered talking? Y'know, like words and conversations. Shit like that," she blabbered on, her voice getting higher in her anxiety. Already, she can feel her back radiating with heat and it wasn't from the desert, that's for sure. But she ignored it for her anger, her free hand squeezing into a fist. "Ever thought that you could talk it out? Battling it out with bloodshed and all that doesn't usually end well, yeah? Like Martin Luther King Junior always says— _Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that._ "

Jex looked at her incredulously, not really saying a word as if he was actually considering it. Valerie smiled, hope rising before it fell as the Kahler doctor shook his head vehemently. "No. He won't listen. He'll kill me." Keeping gun at a steady point, he backed towards the door, opening it. Before he could go any further, however, there was a sound of a gun cocking and Valerie let out a sigh of relief.

There, pointing the gun at Jex's bac, was Isaac and Rory. The Sheriff stepped in, nothing betraying him except for the confusion in his voice.

"Doc, what are you doin'?"

Jex stared at the girls with a horrified expression. Valerie wish she could say that she wasn't petty enough to make a smug expression on her face. Sadly, that wasn't the case. Her lips pulled into a small 'o' and her eyebrows rose in mock-surprise as though she's been exposed to a scandal.

 _Oh, how the tables have turned._

Isaac's gaze darted between the Kahler and the younger woman. "What's goin' on here?"

"Oh, you know," Valerie licked her lips. "Just Jex over here pulling the gun on us, what's up with you guys?"

Isaac's frowned deepened as he directed his disappointed gaze at the doctor. "'Doc, is that true? Were you really gonna gun 'em?"

Jex backed into a wall as the four of them cornered him, blocking out any means of escape. His previous expression, the one of a cold and hard survivor dissipated and turned into one of pleading and regret.

"It-it was stupid of me, I realized that now." Jex amended, lying through his teeth. "I just thought I'd put you all in enough danger, perhaps if I left..."

" _Bullshit._ " Valerie drawled out, crossing her arms.

Amy nodded in agreement, glaring at him. "That's not what you told us."

Jex spluttered in his defence but before he could put a word in, the Doctor swaggered in. The Time Lord approached him, calm in his exterior and yet there was an ominous aura that surrounded him. It was clear to everyone in the room; the Doctor was mad. _And rightly so,_ Valerie thought, ignoring the little stroke of fear when she caught the darkened look in his eyes. They were not the same eyes that beamed at her moments ago. This, she realized, was the Oncoming Storm. The very same persona that sent armies running the opposite way and the monsters of space and time cowering in their boots.

"They're right. Everything he says, it's... all... lies." The Doctor took a deep, shuddering breath. "This man is a murderer."

"I am a scientist!" Jex argued, narrowing his eyes despite the terror that twinge at his heart.

The Doctor hardly blinked but his frown deepened. "Sit down," he ordered and he lashed out, his anger surging at Jex's defiance. "Sit down!"

Valerie flinched, sharing wide-eyed glances with Amy and Rory.

"Tell them what you are." The Doctor demanded.

"What am I? A war hero," Jex said without doubt, as though his actions were something to be praised off.

Valerie bristled, opening her mouth to retort. _War hero, my ass._

"Okay," Isaac cut in, shifting uncomfortably at the heavy tension. "Somebody want to tell me what's goin' on?"

"The Gunslinger is a cyborg." The Doctor bit out, stepping away from Jex.

"A what?"

"Half man, half machine. A weapon," the Doctor explained. "Jex built it. He and his team took volunteers, told them they'd be selected for special training, then _experimented_ on them, fused their bodies with weaponry and programmed them to _kill_." He turned, meeting Valerie's gaze in a silent question.

Valerie blinked before she reluctantly nodded. She knew what the Gunslinger was before what this episode was.

Isaac's face fell as he turned to Jex, his friend. "Okay, why? Why would you do that, 'Doc?"

"We'd been at war for nine years. A war that had already decimated half of our planet," Jex explained, hoping to make them understand. "Our task was to bring peace, and we did. We built an army that routed the enemy and ended the war in less than a week. Do you want me to repent? To beg forgiveness for saving millions of lives?"

"And how many died screaming on the operating table before you had _found_ your advantage?!" The Doctor yelled, his temper surging at the injustice Jex had done.

"War is another world," Jex pointed out. "You cannot apply the politics of peace to what I did, to what any of us did."

"That doesn't excuse that you still did it." The brunette shot back, shaking her head at him.

Rory furrowed his eyebrows. "But what happened then? How come you're here?" He asked as the Doctor walked over by the cell, crossing his arms and leaned against the wall.

"When the war ended, we had the cyborgs decommissioned. But one of them must have got its circuitry damaged in battle." Jex's voice shook as he added on to his tale. "It went offline and began hunting down the team that created it, until just two of us were left. We fled and our ships crashed here."

Valerie rubbed her eyes, glancing over to see Rory just reaching out a hand to the the Doctor. He was begging the Doctor to listen, to help out but the Time Lord pointedly ignored Rory's pleads. The latter let out a sigh, meeting Valerie's gaze.

"So what do we do with Jex?" Rory asked and it took everything in Valerie not to wince, realizing that his very words were the catalyst.

"What do we do with him?" Isaac repeated, incredulous.

"Yeah, I mean he's a war criminal."

Defiantly, the Sheriff shook his head. "No, he's the guy that saved the town from cholera, the guy that gave us heat and light."

"Look, Jex may be a criminal and yeah, kinda creepy—" Amy began.

"And still in the room."

She ignored him, continuing on. "—But I think we should put aside what he did and find another solution."

Rory bristled. "Another solution? It's _him_ or _us_!"

The redhead frowned, crossing her arms. "When did we start letting people get executed? Did I miss a memo?" She turned to the Doctor, hoping for him to emphasize her point. "Doctor, tell him."

All eyes went to the Doctor but the man himself remained ignorant of it. His gaze was far off and he didn't spare a glance at any of them. "Hmm? Yes. I don't know. Whatever Amy said."

Amy huffed before she turned to Valerie, gesturing wildly. "Tell him, V! We can't just execute people just 'cause they did something wrong."

Valerie blanched, startled. "I, uh, I don't—" Truth be told, she didn't know what to say. Rory was right in saying that something needed to be done about Jex's actions. But Amy was right in saying that we couldn't just kill the man, even if Valerie felt that they should. Every action requires a consequence to be paid but Death wasn't always it.

The brunette didn't get to answer much further as Jex piped in, polishing monocle as he looked at the Doctor. "Looking at you, Doctor, is like looking into a mirror. Almost." He continued on, ignoring the furious look he garnered from the Doctor. "There's rage there, like me. Guilt, like me. Solitude. Everything but the nerve to do what needs to be done. Thank the Gods my people weren't relying on you to save them."

 _Are you fucking kidding me? How stupid is this guy? What the fuck._ Valerie flinched, watching with wide eyes as the Doctor lunged at Jex, grabbing him.

"No. _No_!" In his anger, no one could really understand his words. "But these people are—! Out, out, out!" The Doctor shoved Jex out roughly.

"Oh, shit—!" Valerie scurried after them quickly, hefting up her barmaid skirt. The Doctor had dragged Jex all the way out to the ring that surrounded the town, pushing him out. She hadn't accounted that the Doctor's fury would go so far as to blind his line of thought. Then again, she hadn't even remembered this episode even existed just short a few hours ago.

Valerie glanced up, catching sight of the Doctor snatching a man's gun. Her breath hitched and her heart seem to stop. It was weird to see the Doctor like this, in the flesh. In the TV, it would've affected her, sure but this, seeing it before her eyes left her shook. Her rose-coloured lenses cracked alongside the sound of the Doctor cocking his gun as he aimed it at Jex's way.

It was a terrifying sight, to see the man of her childhood pointing a gun down at a man. Not an innocent man, certainly but it was hard to think of the Doctor as anyone but a pacifist. Which was, the more she thought about it, not even close to true. This man, the one who took his companions to show them the stars and saved the Earth countless and countless of times, was no stranger to violence. The very thing wasn't his usual way of doing things, especially in his earlier timelines. But that didn't mean it was not an option. The Doctor blew up planets, killed aliens in order to solve a problem and sacrificed people along the way. She knew this, considered and believed it as fact itself.

But to see it? Live before her eyes? Dream or not, it was a hard thing, indeed.

"Doctor." Isaac called out cautiously, coming up from behind Valerie. "Doctor."

The Doctor whirled around and everyone, sans Valerie, ducked at the gun in his hand. The younger brunette had flinched but stood her ground. Even if the Doctor were to shoot her, she had nothing to lose. If she died here, she would wake up and be back to her reality. And she wondered as she stood defiantly against her childhood idol, if Death was as painless as they claim. The Doctor paused, hesitating as they stared each other down.

"Let him back in, 'Doc."

* * *

 **[THE DOCTOR'S POINT OF VIEW]**

* * *

The Doctor hesitated, his gun trembling in his hand as he pointed it her way. He didn't like that look on her face, that scared, terrified look that told him that she wasn't certain that he wasn't going to shoot to her. Often, he forgets that this young woman before him was younger, more naive and she didn't know him as well as he wanted her to. But the fury that surged through his veins, the injustice the Kahler had the audacity to do blinded him. The Doctor stared Valerie down, cooling his face to hide the hurt look.

"Stand down, Val."

Valerie straightened. "O-or what? Y-you'd shoot me?" He didn't miss the small stutter of her words, her uncertainty took a stab at his hearts and he winced.

The Doctor lowered his gun. "No, I wouldn't." He marched up to her, his hearts clenching tightly when she recoiled away from him. His resolve didn't lower. "We could end this right now. We could save everyone _right now_!"

"Come on, 'Doc." Valerie whispered, barely audible enough for him to hear. It took everything in him to ignore the little tremor on her shoulders as he looked down on her. "We don't do things like that, you know better."

He shook his head. "Jex has to pay for his crimes."

"That's not for you to decide, not at this state," she retorted, her hazel eyes staring at him. "You may be the Doctor, but right now, you're not _my_ Doctor."

He flinched at that but didn't falter. "They keep coming back, don't you see?" He snarled, the temper of his flaring. "Every time I negotiate, I try to understand. Well, not today! No! Today, I honour the victims first! His, the Master's, the Daleks', all the people who died because of _my mercy_."

Gently, Valerie grabbed the gun out of his hands and kept a tight hold on them. He could feel her hands trembling as they held his. She didn't say a word and neither did the Doctor. Her silence spoke volumes of what she thought, her thumb grazing over his hands gently. Silently, he marvelled at how easily she calmed him despite how early this was for her, she kept him composed.

 _She keeps me quiet,_ he thought fondly.

"Valerie Sargent." The Doctor heaved out a tired sigh, his gaze softening. He stepped back and simply onto one hand. "Fine. _Fine_. We think of something else but frankly, I'm betting on the Gunslinger."

Valerie let out a shuddering breath of relief. "Oh, thank _fucking_ god." Her words made the Doctor's hearts stutter. The relief in them crushed him, because it meant that she didn't know him. Not as well as he knew her. It meant that she didn't know that he wouldn't dare to hurt her. Even if he couldn't help it. The tension dissipated and everyone was relieved to hear those words come out of his mouth, just hairs away from a blood bath.

"Language," the Doctor scolded her lightly before he turned to Jex, holding out his hand. His eyes narrowed, noticing the Gunslinger moving closer. "Jex, move over the line. Now."

The Gunslinger stood behind Jex, his gun raised to the back of his creator's head. They all watched with hitched breaths as Jex turned to face him. It took only a millisecond for the cyborg's computer to recognize Jex by his tattoo.

"Make peace with your gods."

Jex turned, facing him with desperation. "Kahler-Tek, isn't it? I remember all your names, even now. Please." He pleaded, his voice high in fear. "I'll never hurt anyone again. I'm even helping people here."

"Last chance," the Gunslinger was hardly fazed by his words. "Make peace with your gods." He hitched his gun, preparing to shoot the Kahler doctor down.

"No!" Isaac shouted, darting forward to come in between.

Beside the Doctor, Valerie bolted after him, shoving him away. The Doctor jolted, watching with horror as the shot hit her. The shot rang in his ears, the impact of it hitting her echoing like a distant cry. As Isaac stumbled, the Doctor rushed forward, catching before she could fall to the ground. He slowly lead himself down, cradling her gently.

"No, no, no!" The Doctor cried out, breathing heavily as he looked over her over. "Val, Valerie, oh why did you have to go and do that? You stupid, stupid girl..." He murmured, his hearts thrashing against his rib cage. He had forgotten how reckless she was this early, how impulsive her actions were. He didn't pay any head to Rory or Amy who had scurried over to their friend.

"I didn't..." Valerie breathed out, pain stinging on her shoulder. "...want Isaac to... die..."

"Shh, shh," Amy shushed her beratingly, though her voice cracked with concern. "D-don't talk, idiot."

"Isaac," the Doctor called out, jolting the Sheriff out of his stupor. "Take Jex to his cell, keep him safe." He didn't wait for an response as he slowly stood, carefully picking up Valerie. His spring-like eyes turned to a dark, murky swamp as they met the Gunslinger's form. "This has gone on long enough." Although his heart reaches out to cyborg, the terrible and horrid events it had gone through at Jex's own actions, the Gunslinger had crossed a line.

"You are right." He agreed, aiming his gun at the Doctor. "You've got until noon tomorrow. Give him to me, or I'll kill you all." With that, the cyborg turned and promptly teleported away.

As the cyborg left, the Doctor turned and marched to the Marshall's building, leaving Isaac to fix the mess Jex had made.

* * *

 **[VALERIE'S POINT OF VIEW]**

* * *

Valerie had her fair share of pain. Broken bones, sprained ankles and the occasional, gut-wrenching fever. However, none of them reached to this extent. Although the bullet had barely grazed her, simply brushing at the top of her shoulders, the pain that followed after it _stung_. It ached and throbbed and at every step the Doctor took, it shot through her nerves like repeating bullets from a repeating rifle. Even as the Doctor set her down, the pain still took a stab at her. She whimpered, bitting her lip hard. Already she can feel tears gathering at her eyes and her vision blurred, leaving her sight of the Doctor as a mess of brown and pale pink with a dash of red.

"Shh, shh," the Doctor shushed her soothingly as he poked and prodded at her shoulder to check the damage.

" _Fuck!_ " She hissed, turning her wild gaze to him. "Can you _not_?"

The Doctor pulled away, reproached. "Sorry, sorry," he mumbled out before he continued on, actively making sure he wasn't causing her anymore unnecessary pain. "Doesn't look too bad, just wrapping it up should do it." He rummaged through his jacket pockets, sticking out his tongue as he searched. Letting out a little 'ah-ha' that garnered a snort from her, he pulled out a set of bandages.

Valerie balked, deliriously. "Did you just...?" She trailed off, unsure if she was seeing it right. The bandages were at least 2 inches thick and should've made his pockets bulged out.

The Doctor smiled, amused at the awed look on her face. "Time Lord tech," he explained, beaming. "Bigger on the inside."

"That's so _cool_."

"Isn't it?" The Doctor's smile widened.

The brunette glanced up, in the middle of shrugging off her shirt. Her cheeks turned pink, realizing that she was undressing for the Doctor. For medical reasons, obviously but the thought nonetheless embarrassed her. She kept going though, lowering her shirt enough just so the Doctor could wrap it easily without getting her clothes stuck.

 _Well then,_ she thought, blushing furiously as her gaze landed on her black sports bra. For all intents and purposes, she was glad that she wore it even if it her chest flatter than it usually was. It made her appear a lot more modest.

The Doctor shot her a reassuring look, one that made her stomach cease clenching and her heart calm. He went on to do this work silently, leaving themselves in a silence she couldn't describe.

Just as the Doctor finished wrapping her shoulder, he spoke up. "Valerie."

"What's up?" the brunette didn't meet his gaze, busying herself as she pulled her shirt back on. When the Doctor didn't continue, she forced her hazel eyes to meet his. "'Doc?"

His smile had dimmed to a soft frown as he stared at her. "You think this is a dream." He stated.

Valerie flinched, his voice was resigned and blank. "...yeah," she admitted softly. She might as well tell him anyway, there was no harm to it. Even if there was, she was waking up soon, if the throbbing headache was any indication.

The Doctor reached over and gently grasped her face, pulling her in close enough that their foreheads were touching. "Val, listen to me," he said softly. "I know that you think this is a dream but trust me on this, it's not. It's real. The crack on your wall, Amy, Rory, Me, and everyone before them. You getting hurt. It's very well real."

"'Doc, what—"

"—Valerie, please," the Doctor cut her off, his eyes darting down to her lap where her hands rested. "I know this must be hard to believe but please know that it's the truth."

She followed his gaze, noticing the dim glow emitting from her hands. Her hazel eyes narrowed, darting up to meet the Doctor's own sad orbs. "'Doc, Doctor, what's going on?" Her voice went high in fear, borderline squeaking.

"Shh, shh," he shushed her softly, his thumbs grazing her cheeks. "I know this must be terrifying for you, Valerie but please know that you will be okay. I promise you that. You're going to meet another me, an older or younger version of me. I will be different but know that I would never hurt you, alright? But promise me." He paused, his green eyes gazing at her intently. "Don't do _that_ ever again, don't put _ever_ yourself in danger for the hell of it. If you die," his voice cracked at those words as though the very thought of it pained him. "You will be dead. Well and truly dead. This is no dream, Valerie, it's real. Very real."

Her heart hammered heavily, drumming a beat against her ribcage that rang through her ears. She stared at the Doctor, his words slowly sinking in as reality crashed unto her. It thrashed and rammed her over and over again, pounding it into her mind that the Doctor's words were the truth and nothing but the truth. The way he spoke, his words, the tone of his voice, and the face he made spoke volumes.

This dream was a reality that she had stepped into.

The glow brightened, obscuring her vision of the Doctor with a golden view. She opened her mouth as if to protest but then closed it. Valerie had no words. How had she gone from Canada to the U.K. so easily? How had she travelled time without the TARDIS? Her head whirled, trying to make sense of the situation but to no avail. Not at this state. Not when she was feeling things so strongly, all at once.

The Doctor seemed to read her mind and smiled sadly, kissing her forehead. "I'll see you soon, okay?"

"Doctor, I—"

In one instant, bright flash, she was gone.

* * *

 **NEXT UP:** _The Time of the Angels I_

 _PREVIEW:_

"Valerie?!"

Amy gaped, her eyes darting at the newcomer before they returned to the screen, where the statue had moved, now peaking out of its hand.

Disorientated, Valerie stumbled, crashing against the wall beside Amy. "Holy fucking shit, that was a _doozy_." She glanced up, smiling anxiously at the redhead. "Hello, Amy, how are 'ya?"

"Never mind that!" Amy screeched, pointing at the screen. Her eyes had moved away from it for a brief second but in that second, the Angel had moved, much closer now. "That thing, it just moved!"

Valerie blanched, eyes shooting up to see. Her face paled as the stone, cold face of a Weeping Stone stared at them through the screen. " _Oh, shit._ "


	6. The Time of Angels: Heaven

**FOR THE TIME BEING**

* * *

"When you consider things like the stars, our affairs don't seem to matter very much, do they?"

— **Virginia Woolf**

* * *

"Valerie?!"

Amy gaped, her eyes darting at the newcomer before they returned to the screen, where the statue had moved, now peaking out of its hand.

Disorientated, Valerie stumbled, crashing against the wall beside Amy. "Holy fucking shit, that was a _doozy_." She glanced up, smiling anxiously at the redhead. "Hello, Amy, how are 'ya?"

"Never mind that!" Amy screeched, pointing at the screen. Her eyes had moved away from it for a brief second but in that second, the Angel had moved, much closer now. "That thing, it just moved!"

Valerie blanched, eyes shooting up to see. Her face paled as the stone, cold face of a Weeping Stone stared at them through the screen. " _Oh, shit._ "

 _What do I do?WhatdoIdo?WhatdoIdo?_ A series of panicked thoughts ran through her mind as she backed up, tugging on Amy's hand. This was not what she needed right now. Hurling her straight into the hands of a Weeping Angel, after just discovering that this dream was in fact _not_ a dream, was not a good idea. Whoever was up there, Valerie swore she's going to fucking fight it. God be damned.

Out of all the monsters and beings in Doctor Who, the Weeping Angels were the ones that really scared her. Eerily still under the eyes of another organism, they only move without being seen. Even in the split moment of darkness when blinking, they move at an inhumane speed. Tragically, Valerie _could not_ keep her eyes open longer than a minute. So she can't even rely on herself to fend them long enough for the Doctor to get back here in time.

"Amy, be a doll and keep your eyes on it would you?" Valerie bit her lip hard, walking around the table to reach for the remote. "And, uh, don't blink." As she grasped the remote, she was certain that Amy can hear her labouring breath and see her hands shake.

"V? What's happening?" Amy stared at the screen with wide eyes, face twitching as she didn't dare blink.

Valerie didn't answer, raising the remote to face the screen. She pressed down, trying to turn off the TV. Her efforts were fruitless however as the screen continued to flicker back to life each time. Each time it the image returned, her stomach twisted even more and bile rose up through her throat. " _Shit._ This is bad, this, this, is v-very bad."

"How is that possible?" Amy breathed out, reaching out to cling to Valerie's free hand. "You're just a recording. You can't _move._ " She glanced down, spotting the power plug.

Valerie followed Amy's line of direction, realizing that she took her eyes off the screen. Her hazel eyes narrowed, snapping back up to the screen. "Amy—"

The redhead ignored her, tugging on the power plug. When her eyes returned back to the screen, she took a shaky step back, pressing her back against the door.

The Angel was much closer now, its face just inches away from the camera. Valerie felt her eyes water, unable to keep them open for so long. _Come on, come on, just keep them open for a little bit._ Beside her, Amy had turned her back, shaking the door knob ferociously but it wouldn't budge.

"Doctor!"

Valerie blinked, rubbing her eyes as quickly as she could before she returned her gaze back to the Weeping Angel. Gone was the serene, composed expression. The Weeping Angel's face morphed into one of demonic anger, barring its teeth at them as though snarling.

"Doctor!" Amy cried out in panic, her voice cracking in her fear as she whirled back to focus on the door. "Valerie? Why isn't it opening?"

Valerie felt her heart reach out to the poor girl, who was just 2 years her junior."It's dead-locked, we can't open it," she stated, her mind rattling as she thought about how the episode had went. As far as she could remember in her panicked state, Amy was able to escape the clutches of the Angel but how'd she go about it remained a frustrating mystery.

"What are we going to do?" Amy asked, her grip on Valerie's hand tightening.

The older woman laughed anxiously. "Good question," she chewed on her lip. "Too bad I can't answer it."

"Now is not the time," Amy hissed, pinching her.

Valerie yelped. She straightened, a thought occurring to her. The video only lasted for mere seconds and yet here it was, projecting the Weeping Angel. That meant... "Whatever takes an image of an Angel is an Angel."

"What? What did you say?"

Valerie trembled, letting out deep breathes in her effort to calm herself. "Amy, call the Doctor. I'll keep my eyes on it," she ordered. The redhead spluttered, ready to protest but Valerie wasn't having it. "J-just keep calling for the Doctor."

Amy shut her mouth closed, noticing the heavy frown and the crease between her friend's eyebrows. Reluctantly, she turned away to face the door, pounding on the keypad hard.

"Doctor! Doctor!"

Valerie felt her eyes twitched, begging to be closed. _No, no, no, oh no you don't_ —She blinked. In just a split second, the Angel was suddenly in the room. Its image flickering. "Fuck, oh fuck, it's in the room."

Beside her, Amy hastened her pounding, nearly yelling herself hoarse. "Doctor! Doctor! It's in the room!"

"Amy! Are you alright?!" The Doctor's voice rang out through the door, earning an loud sigh of relief from the both of them. "What's happening?!"

"'Doc, it's coming out of the television," Valerie whimpered, voice quivering as she stared at the statue. There were no words to describe how relieved she was to hear the Doctor's voice.

"Is that Valerie?!" The Doctor questioned. "When did you get here?! Are you alright?! Are you and Amy—"

"We're good, 'Doc," the brunette replied. "Just focus on getting us out, please?"

"Don't take your eyes off it!" Through the door, Valerie can hear the muffled sound of the sonic screwdriver whirring. "It can't move if you're looking!"

Just before Amy could possibly lift her eyes to look at the Angel, Valerie squeezed her hand. "Don't worry about it. I got it. Just—just figure something out."

The redhead opened her mouth, ready to protest. "But—"

The brunette pulled her face into a calm, determined expression. She didn't want to show Amy that she was equally as scared as she was. "Trust me. Amy, I promise you that I won't let it get to you." Valerie can feel Amy's grip on her hand tighten.

As if pulled by some small force, her eyes flickered over to its face. Despite knowing better, she found herself gazing at its eyes. Its cold, stone eyes lacked pupils and irises in its grey colour. A shiver went down her spine, erupting a series of goosebumps down her tanned arms. She forcefully pulled her eyes downward, making sure she kept them on the Angel's form.

"Don't blink, Amy, Val! Don't even blink!" The Doctor's voice yelled out. "Can you turn it off?! The screen! Can you turn it off?!"

"We tried!"

"Try again but don't take your eyes off the Angel!"

"We're not!"

"Each time it moves, it'll move faster! Don't even blink!"

"Shut up! We get it!" Valerie hissed out, winking her left eye before switching it over to her right.

"Pass me the remote," Amy said, snatching it off Valerie's other hand. She fumbled for the switch, attempting to turn it off but the image simply flickered back on each time. "It just keeps switching back on!"

Valerie gulped. "Yeah, it's the Angel."

She was beginning to wish that this was a dream or that the Doctor hadn't told her that it wasn't. Then again, she would not be as cautious as she is now. Imagine how blissfully ignorant she would've been right now if he hadn't. She would be strolling through, with swagger because she thought if she had died or the Angel had touch her, she would just wake up. But that wasn't the case anymore. This was a reality she couldn't risk. She would die, her neck snapped by the Angels. Valerie licked her cracked lips, her heart beating hard against her ribcage.

"But it's just a recording," Amy said in disbelief.

"That's cause it's an image of an Angel," Valerie quoted, remembering the Doctor's words in the show. "An image of an Angel is an Angel."

Beside her, Valerie can feel Amy's fear just vibrating from her as she trembled. "What's it gonna do to us?"

Valerie opted to not answer, simply squeezing her hand in reassurance. She can hear the Doctor yelling at them to keep looking at it. It was beginning to grate on her nerves but she didn't have the heart to tell him to shut up again, not when she knew he was panicking just as they are. The Time Lord is probably in hysterics right now, with Amy in such grave danger.

"Just tell me," Amy demanded. "Tell me."

Valerie bit her lip. "The moment they touch you, they'll send back into time where you'll live your final days." She didn't dare mention that there is a likely chance of the Weeping Angel just snapping their necks. Considering that's what happened to Bob and the rest.

"Amy, Val! Don't look at the eyes!" The Doctor called out. "Look anywhere but don't look at the eyes."

Valerie racked through her mind, muttering. "Whatever holds an image of an Angel is an Angel. Whatever holds an image of an Angel is an Angel..."

Amy's eyes snapped up to her, something dawning on her. "What did you say?"

"Whatever holds an image of an Angel is an Angel," Valerie repeated. Her head was pounding, an aggravating sort of pain that never seems to go away.

Amy released a deep breath, holding out the remote as she gazed at the screen. "One, two, three, four..." When the screen turned to static, she pressed down. The image of the Angel flickered, frozen in its state before disappearing.

"Oh thank fucking god," Valerie croaked out, her legs giving out. She crawled out of the way of the door as the Doctor and River rushed in. Rubbing her eyes, she inhaled and exhaled, counting up to 10. Instantly the Doctor was at her side, brushing away the stray strands off her face.

"Valerie! Are you alright?" He asked in concerned, leaning closely to observe her face. He frowned, noting the deep crease between her brows and the exhausted look.

"Hey, 'Doc," she greeted him wearily, accepting his helping hand. "I'm good, thanks."

The Doctor let out a heavy sigh of relief, leaning forward to kiss her forehand. "Thank goodness, you're okay."

Valerie blushed, her heart warming as it returned to its previous, quick beat. _Ah..._ Valerie hadn't realize how affectionate this Doctor was but it was nice to know that he cared for her well-being. The Doctor pulled away, ruffling her hair for a bit.

"I'm glad that you're okay."

"I froze it," said Amy, as though disbelief. "There was a sort of blip on the tape and I froze it on the blip." She approached the two, an odd look glazing over her face.

Valerie nodded. "It wasn't the image of an angel any more, yeah. You were amazing, Ames."

"That was good, yeah? It was, wasn't it? That was pretty good," Amy smiled, still shaky from the experience.

"That was amazing!" River beamed at the two girls, before throwing her arms around Valerie, startling her. She pulled away, her eyes twinkling as she greeted her. "Hello, darling."

A vague sense of déjà vu hit Valerie as she returned River's smile, albeit anxiously. "Hello."

The Doctor waved his sonic screwdriver over them before he turned to the TV. "River, hug Amy," he ordered.

"Why?"

"'Cause I'm busy."

Amy spluttered indignantly. "I'm fine."

River let out an amused smile, turning to give Amy a large hug. "You're brilliant!"

"Thanks. Yeah, I kind of creamed it, didn't I?" Amy nodded fervently, shooting pointed looks at the Doctor. She turned her gaze to Valerie, as if asking c _an you believe him?_

Valerie sniggered. She felt bad for Amy, who pinned for her idol's attention but the man was too oblivious to notice.

"So it was here?" River asked, returning the task at hand. "That was the Angel?"

Valerie shook her head. She didn't need to know that it wasn't. It was just a four second clip, simply holding the Weeping Angel's image. "Nah, it's just a projection."

"She's right," agreed the Doctor. "It's reaching out, getting a good look at us. It's no longer dormant."

Following the Doctor's words, a large, startling sound exploded from outside, garnering their attention. Valerie jumped, sharing startled looks with Amy as the Doctor rushed to the door. Shaking her head, she quickly followed him, River and Amy at her heels.

"Doctor! We're through!" She hear Father Octavian yell out.

The Doctor glanced over his shoulder to the three ladies. "Okay, now it starts." Instinctively, he reached over, grasping Valerie's hand.

Valerie blinked rapidly, her free hand rubbing her right eye. Already she can feel the heat rising on her cheeks as she stared at their clasped hands. "Ah, 'Doc..."

The Doctor hummed, turning to her. He frowned, noticing her rubbing her eye so intensively. "Are you alright?"

She nodded. "Yeah, I'm good, just got something in my eye, it's bugging me." There was something wrong. Something that she wasn't sure off. Like she was forgetting something important but Valerie couldn't put a finger on what it was. Perhaps it was just the fear of what was to come. _Yeah,_ she nodded inwardly, _that's it. I'm just scared of what's going to happen next._

His frowned deepened, as though he knew that she wasn't telling the truth. Before he could question her any further however, he was called over by Father Octavian. He glanced over Valerie's head, making some sort of eye contact with someone before he walked after Father Octavian.

River popped in beside her, giving Valerie a concerned look. "Are you alright, darling?"

Valerie furrowed her eyebrows, a tad irritated. "Yeah, yeah."

The older woman rose a brow questioningly before she shook her head. "Alright, if you say so."

Amy eyed Valerie's outfit, sniggering. "Why are you wearing that?"

Valerie blushed. "I was just at Nevada. Don't judge me."

"Don't worry," assured River, smirking at her little dress. "You look very cute, darling."

"Why do you call me 'darling'?" Valerie asked, cheeks turning pink.

She let her eyes scan River, feeling the heat rise when River flashed her a smile, catching her. Pointedly, she looked away. Valerie couldn't believe how _gorgeous_ River Song is. The show truly didn't show her justice. Her whole aura vibrated with sensuality and seduction.

The brunette licked her lips, feeling them go dry in her nervous. "Not, not that I mind 'cause you're really pretty and I can't believe you hugged me earlier, yeah but—"

"Wait," River stopped short, whirling around to face Valerie. "You don't know?" A strange look passed over her face, something flashing in her verdant eyes.

"No," she replied.

River bit her lip, as though some sad understanding dawned on her. "I see, well... Spoilers!" River's iconic smile returned, linking warms with Valerie, leading her and Amy to the Doctor. "Come along now!"

Valerie glanced over at Amy, sharing confused looks over her shoulder.

* * *

Valerie pointedly ignored the little whispers of anxiety as she climbed down the rope ladder, joining the Doctor and the rest. She took the time to take in her surroundings, admiring the cavern with both awe and intimidation.

"Do we have a gravity globe?" the Doctor asked Father Octavian.

Octavian held out his hand. "Grav globe." One of the soldiers takes a sphere from his pack, handing it over to Octavian.

"Where are we? What is this?" Amy looked around curiously.

"It's an Aplan Mortarium," River said. "Sometimes called a Maze of the Dead."

"And what's that?"

"Well, if you happen to be a creature of living stone..." the Doctor threw a kick at it, sending the sphere upwards. It rose up before lighting up the whole cave, revealing statues at every nook and corner. "The perfect hiding place."

"Damn," Valerie whistled lowly, flashing her torch around to admire the statues.

"I guess this makes it a bit trickier," commented Octavian.

The Doctor snorted. "A bit, yeah."

"A stone angel on the loose amongst stone statues," said the Bishop who let out a heavy sigh. "A lot harder than I'd prayed for."

River shook her head. "A needle in a hay-stack."

"A needle that looks like hay. A hay-like needle. Of death. A hay-alike needle of death in a haystack of, er, statues." The Doctor paused before he shook his head. "No, yours was fine."

"This is definitely _not_ what I need right now," Valerie muttered. It bothered her seeing so many statues at once, each and every single one of them with a single head. Right now, they're slow, just waking up from some sort of forced hibernation. But that wasn't going to last, not at this rate.

"Right," Octavian said. "Check every single statue in this chamber. You know what you're looking for. Complete visual inspection." He turned to the Doctor. "One question—how do we fight it?"

 _We don't._ Valerie thought, ignoring the tangible taste of fear on her tongue. She didn't see the concerned looks the Doctor sent her, too busy rubbing her eyes to notice.

"We find it, and hope," the Doctor simply said before going off, tugging on Valerie's hand as Amy trails after them.

* * *

A cold sense of air swept down on her, erupting goosebumps on her arms. Valerie wrapped her shoulders, rubbing them fervently as she trudges beside Amy. She frowned, her eye itching. Her frown deepened in bewilderment, finding little grit on her finger. As soon as she rubbed them again, a handful of sand and grit seeped through the gaps of her fingers, startling her. _What the fuck?_ She stopped, staring at her hand with wide-eyes. A deep sense of dread filling her stomach.

Amy paused, turning to look at Valerie. "Hey, you okay?"

River came up beside them, noticing the uneasy look that over came the barista's face. "Is something wrong, darling?"

"I'm good, I'm good," the brunette replied, flashing a reassuringly smile at the other two.

"So, what's a Maze of the Dead?" Amy asked curiously, looking around.

"Oh, it's not as bad as it sounds. It's just a labyrinth with dead people buried in the walls," River said casually, garnering some raised eyebrows."Okay, that was fairly bad." She amended after a thought.

Valerie snorted. "Fairly bad?"

"Right give me your arm," River told Amy, flashing a syringe as she grabbed her arm. "This won't hurt a bit." She plunged it down.

"Ow!"

"There, you see. I lied," the older woman smiled, explaining. "It's a viro-stabiliser. Stabilises your metabolism against radiation, drive burn, anything. You're going to need it when we get up to that ship." She turns to Valerie, waving the syringe casually. "Come on, darling. You too."

Valerie pursued her lips before she reluctantly held out her arm, wincing at the sudden sting. A small string of curses leaped out of her mouth as she blinked rapidly to hold back tears. Valerie, for the life of her, can't handle pain very well. At least, not when she's not ready for it. When River was done, Valerie wrapped her arms around her shoulders, trudging up beside the Doctor. She looked over his shoulders, a small smile curling on her lips. She didn't know if she had the heart to tell him that it was upside down and that he was _very_ obvious.

The Doctor paused in his mock readings to look at her. "Are you cold?"

Valerie shot him a look. "Yeah? I'm clearly not dressed for cavern hiking, am I?"

"Oh." He finally took in her outfit, recognizing the western clothing. "When were you?" He asked as he took off his coat, throwing over her shoulders.

She blinked, flustered. "Uh, thank you..." Valerie mumbled, astonished at his actions. She hadn't expected the Doctor to hand over his coat to her. "Nevada with the future you, but this is my third trip."

His eyes shot up to look at her, staring at her intensely. She averted her gaze, suddenly finding her western boots much more interesting. Valerie fidgeted awkwardly under his gaze which seemed to be devouring her whole as he stared at her. "I see..." He breathed. "So you just found out?"

She knew exactly what he was talking about. "Yeah."

He stared at her for a couple of more minutes before he hummed, returning back to his work. Valerie let herself survey the Doctor, noticing slight tensing of his shoulders with a tinge of amusement. He was listening to River and Amy's conversation, trying to get some information out of it. Despite his composed stance, it was _very_ obvious to her.

"Yes, we are," River said loudly, pointing her torch light at him.

The Doctor didn't falter, schooling his features into a composed indifference. "Sorry, what?"

"Talking about you," River grinned, her smirk curling into a smug grin.

"I wasn't listening, I'm busy," said the Doctor, shaking his head.

 _And River_ , Valerie thought, glancing between the two. She leaned over the Doctor's shoulder, sniggering when she took in the device in his hand.

"Uh, 'Doc?" The Doctor glanced at Valerie. "Other way up."

Her heart aww'ed as the Doctor's cheeks heated up in embarrassment, enjoying the caught-out look that slowly formed on his cheeks. She sniggered silently as the Doctor tentatively turned the device the other way round. He glanced at Valerie, pouting at the amused grin on her face.

"You're so cute," she cooed and he seemed to beam at that. Realizing what she was doing, she cursed at herself; _Oh shit, no flirting. No flirting, go back, go back!_ "In, in that idiot kind of way."

His face fell, garnering snickers from River and Amy behind them. "Must you always mock me?"

"It wouldn't be fun if I don't," teased Valerie, fiddling with the sleeves of the Doctor's tweed jacket. She pointedly ignored her own red cheeks, inwardly freaking out as she screeched into the abyss of her mind. She noticed the pursued curl of his lips and frowned. Maybe he doesn't like it when she does it? Then she caught River out of the corner of her eye and she suddenly remembered. _Ah, shit, I'm wearing her husband's jacket. Not cool, V. Not cool._

 _...But I'm really cold and this is really warm._

"But then, I mean, if you're offended, I'm sorry, I totally take that back. I didn't, uh, mean to offend you—"

River grinned, cooing at her from the distance. "Oh, I forget how much I adore the younger you! You're so flustered and shy sometimes, it's adorable."

"Ah..." Valerie turned away, burying her face into her hands in her own embarrasement. _She finds me cute?!_ She leaned towards the Doctor, whispering excitedly. "Did you hear that? I think she likes me!"

The Doctor narrowed his gaze at River, disgruntled. He muttered something under his breath, tugging on Valerie's hand.

Valerie glanced over her shoulder, spotting River and Amy whispering each other. She could hear snip bits of their conversation, hearing the words "wife" and "married". Already, she knew that they were talking about River's relationship with the Doctor. Curious, she strained her ears to listen. Before she could hear any more however, the Doctor pointed at one of the statues, grabbing her attention.

"An incredible species, aren't they? The Aplans," Valerie commented wearily, eying the statues with caution. Each and every single statue around them were made of single-headed creatures. Obviously, she knew they were the Weeping Angels, considering the fact that Aplans had two heads, not one. _Now, if the Doctor could just figure it out sooner._

"Certainly," the Doctor nodded eagerly. "Amazing architects and—" The Doctor's words were cut off, the sound of gunfire garnering everyone's attention.

"Well, this ain't good," Valerie murmured, exchanging worried glances with the Doctor as they dashed off to the main chamber, River and Amy at their heels.

A young cleric had fired his weapon at one of the statues. Valerie frowned deeply, a deep sense of trepidation rising in her stomach as she watched the Doctor examine the statue. The Doctor turned his gaze back to her, leaning closely.

"Val?"

"What's up?" she whispered back, wondering why he was whispering.

"A clue, please?"

Valerie blinked. "A what?"

The Doctor sighed. "You sometimes give me hints or clues to help me out."

"Oh." Valerie pursued her lips, wondering how he knew that she knew how some of the events would turn out. _Never mind that,_ she shook her head, remembering the seriousness of the situation. She racked through her mind, thinking of a couple of words that could help him and not jeopardize the future. "Aplans have two heads, don't they?"

The Doctor nodded, her words not quite sinking in. "Yes, what about it?"

 _Unbelievable._ "Figure it out." She turned away from him, watching Father Octavian scold his cleric. Her lips tugged down, feeling bad for him.

"Sorry. Sorry, I thought..." The cleric let out a shuddered breath, clearly embarrassed. "I thought it looked at me."

Unlike Valerie, however, Octavian was far less sympathetic. "We know what the Angel looks like. Is that the Angel?"

"No, sir."

"No, sir, it is not!" Octavian snapped, his own fear and aggravation getting to him. "According to the Doctor, we are facing an enemy of unknowable power and infinite evil. So it would be good, it would be very good, if we could all remain calm in the presence of decor."

"Hey now, let's not get snappy, yeah?" Valerie shot a glare at Octavian. Although it wasn't a smart move, it was one that Valerie understood. "No harm done." _For now_.

"What's your name?" The Doctor turned to Bob, noting the reprimanded look with pity.

"Bob, sir."

The Doctor beamed. "Ah, that's a great name. I love Bob."

"It's a Sacred Name," Octavian informed them. "We all have Sacred Names, they're given to us in the service of the Church."

Valerie slapped a hand to her mouth. _Sacred Bob._ She whined quietly, having earned a sharp jab at the side by Amy.

The Doctor joined Father Octavian and his cleric. "Sacred Bob. More like Scared Bob now, eh?" He jested good-naturedly.

"Yes, sir," Bob replied, flustered.

"Ah, good," the Doctor nodded readily. "Scared keeps you fast. Anyone in this room who isn't scared is a moron." He motioned to the Bishop. "Carry on."

Valerie paused. _Scared keeps you fast. Scared keeps you alive._ She bit her lip hard, a curling nausea setting in. She shifted her gaze, landing on Cleric Bob. _Those words don't apply to him, not in this episode. Not in this situation._ She frowned, remorse flooding her like the onset of a deadly winter.

"We'll be moving into the maze in two minutes." Octavian informed his clerics before he turned to Bob. "You stay with Christian and Angelo. Guard the approach."

 _He's going to die,_ she realized, _and so will the rest._

* * *

Amy looked upwards, awe coloring her face. "Isn't there a chance this lot's just gonna collapse? There's a whole ship up there."

"Incredible builders, the Aplans," said River, eying the upward passage.

"Well, I'll be damned." Valerie whistled lowly, her mind racking through the possible equations. "Can you imagine the math that's put through in doing this?" It's too bad that the Aplans were long gone and dead, they would've made an interesting discussion partner. Especially if they had two heads.

"Had dinner with their chief architect once," the Doctor said idly. "Two heads are better than one."

"You mean you helped him?" Amy asked, tilting her head.

The Doctor shook his head. "No, I mean he had two heads." He paused, turning to River. "That book, the very end, what did it say?"

"Hang on." River rummaged through her back-pack, grabbing the book and flipping it over to the very end.

"Read it to me."

""What if we had ideas that could think for themselves? What if one day our dreams no longer needed us? When these things occur and are held to be true, the time will be upon us. The time of Angels."" River paled, lifting her eyes to meet their eyes. All of them held panicked-stricken expressions.

"Well, fuck," Valerie murmured.

* * *

They trudged upward, Valerie situating herself in the middle with River. The hike was already getting to her, if the heavy panting was anything to go by. The brunette tried her best to even out her breathes, forcing herself to take each step. She didn't notice the concerned looks River shoots her.

"Are we there yet? It's a hell of a climb," said Amy, panting heavily.

"The maze is on six levels representing the ascent of the soul. Only two levels to go," encouraged River as she strode along, composed.

The Doctor nodded. "Lovely species, the Aplans. We should visit them sometime."

Amy furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "I thought they were all dead?"

"So's Virginia Woolf. Val and I are on her bowling team," the Doctor retorted.

Valerie perked up at that. "Woah, am I?" Viriginia Woolf, in Valerie's opinion, was probably one of the greatest writers she's ever read. An incredible woman. It was cool to know that she bowled with her.

The Doctor smiled at her, humming as he went on. "Very relaxed, sort of cheerful. That's having two heads. You're never short of a snog with an extra head." He joked, earning a light smack from Valerie.

"Not the time, 'Doc."

"Doctor, Valerie, there's something. I don't know what it is..." River informed him, trailing off.

"Yeah, something wrong. Don't know what it is yet either, working on it." The Doctor muttered to himself, his mind racking through. _"_ Then they started having laws against self-marrying and what was that about? But that's the church for you." He paused, realizing who he was talking to. " _Erm_ , no offence, Bishop."

"Un-fucking-believable..." Valerie mumbled rubbing her eyes.

"Quite a lot taken, if that's all right, Doctor," Octavian said dryly.

Reaching in a narrow passage, Valerie bit her lip anxiously. She eyed the line of statues as paranoia pumped her heart, each beat echoing in her ears. She gulped, gripping her shoulders tightly. She glanced down, feeling a hand reach over and wrapping itself around hers. Valerie met the Doctor's eyes, dipping her head in silent thanks.

"Lowest point in the wreckage is only about 50 feet up from here," said the Father, pointing ahead. "That way."

"Church had a point, if you think about it," Amy mused. "The divorces must have been messy."

Valerie laughed, a tittering noise that sounded more anxious than joyful. "That would give a whole new meaning of a messy divorce, yeah?"

The Doctor was glancing around, eying the statues nonchalantly but intently. He halted, narrowing his eyes at one of them. "Oh!" Realization dawned upon him. He turned to Valerie, a silent question dancing in his eyes.

She simply nodded, ignoring her stomach curling in its fear. _Fucking finally, 'Doc._

"What's wrong?" Amy asked worriedly.

River paled, understanding reaching her. "Oh." Her eyes darted to Valerie and the Doctor, her eyes wide.

"Exactly."

Valerie scoffed mutedly, shaking her head. "Can't believe it took you so long to figure it out."

"How could we not notice that?" River hissed, panic-stricken.

"Low level perception filter," replied the Doctor, letting out a deep breath. "Or maybe we're thick."

"What's wrong, sir?" Octavian frowned, noticing the tense stance the Doctor and his companions took.

"No one move," Valerie ordered, her heart clenching unpleasantly. "Everyone stay _exactly_ where they are."

The Doctor turned to Octavian, a look of somber remorse on his face. "Bishop, I am truly sorry. I've made a mistake and we are all in danger."

"What danger?"

"The Aplans," replied River.

"The Aplans?"

"They've got _two_ heads."

Octavian furrowed his eyebrows, not getting the hint. "Yes, I get that. So?"

Valerie crossed her arms, holding herself tightly. "So why don't the statues?"

"Everyone, over there. Just move, don't ask questions, don't speak," the Doctor ordered. Everyone hastened, moving over to the spot where there was no statues. "Okay, I want you all to switch off your torches."

"Sir?"

"Just do it." As he commanded, everyone turned off their own flashlights. "Okay, I'm going to turn off this one too, just for a moment."

River eyed him wearily. "Are you sure about this?"

"No," was the Doctor's instant reply. He turned to face Valerie, taking her in for a moment. He flicked off his torch for just a split second before turning it on again.

Valerie took a step back, her heart pounding as she stared at the statues. The Weepings Angels were facing them, their eyes dead-set on the group. Valerie scurried after the Doctor who had ran ahead.

"Oh, my God," Amy whispered in horror. "They've moved."

The Doctor examined the Angels, all of which were lining their way up to the space ship.

"They're Angels," the Doctor breathed, spinning around. "All of them!"

River shook her head in disbelief. "But they can't be."

"Clerics, keep watching them," ordered the Doctor. He turned back, taking a step back. The Angels have moved forward. "Every statue in this maze, every single one, is a Weeping Angel. They're coming after us."

* * *

 **A/N: Hello again! Again, thank you so much for the fantastic followers, favourites, reviews, etc! Although I would very much like to hear about your guy's opinion on this and what I can do to improve it! No guanrantee I'll listen but I loved to hear what you guys think of Valerie, the story and I want to see if you can find a bit of foreshadowing in there. If you guys have any questions, don't be afraid to ask! I'm always up to answer them!**

 **I've realized that I haven't put much thought on what Valerie looks like and what her background is. Well, as you know, she's Canadian! She's half Filipino (on her Mother's side) and half English (from her father's side). She's born on October 27th, 1989. And her original timeline was set on 2012, October 12.**

 **Have a great day! Thank you so much for your support!**


	7. The Time of Angels: In the Eye

**FOR THE TIME BEING**

* * *

"When you can't beat the odds, change the game."

― **Leigh Bardugo,** _Crooked Kingdom_

* * *

Valerie rubbed her eyes, feeling something coarse and tiny on the edges of her eye-lids. In the midst of the others' panicked states, she was starting to get antsy. Although she knew that the others, at least the Doctor, River and Amy, would be alright at the end—it didn't necessarily guarantee her own safety.

"There was only one Angel on the ship," said River, flashing her torch around. "Just the one, I swear."

"Could they have been here already?" Amy asked.

"The Aplans, how did they die out?" The Doctor demanded, turning to face River and Valerie.

River shook her head. "Nobody knows."

"We know."

"They don't look like Angels," said Octavian.

"And they're not fast," Amy pointed out. "You said they were fast. They should have had us by now."

"They're dying," Valerie replied, reaching over to grasp Amy's hand in reassurance. "Losing their form. They were down here for centuries, starving."

"Losing their image," the redhead realized.

"And their image is their power. Power. Power!" The Doctor's eyes narrowed with understanding.

"Doctor?"

"Don't you see?" The Doctor whirled around to face them. "All that radiation spilling out, the drive burn. The crash wasn't an accident―it was a rescue mission, for the Angels. We're in the middle of an army and it's waking up."

Valerie shared looks with Amy, both of them holding the same, terror-stricken expressions on their faces. Valerie's stomach churned, twisting in her ugly fear.

"We need to get out of here fast," River said urgently.

Octavian whipped out his radio. "Bob, Angelo, Christian, come in, please." No response. Valerie paled. "Any of you, come in!"

Bob's voice came over the radio. "It's Bob, sir. Sorry, sir."

"Bob, are Angelo and Christian with you? All the statues are active. I repeat, all the statues are active!"

"I know, sir. Angelo and Christian are dead, sir. The statues killed them, sir."

 _They're gone,_ Valerie thought with remorse, _and Bob is too._

The Doctor snatched the radio out of Octavian's hands. "Bob, Sacred Bob, it's me, the Doctor. Where are you now?"

Octavian frowned, offended at the Doctor's audacity. "I'm talking to my..."

The Doctor wasn't having any of it, as he held up a finger on Octavian's face. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, shut up!" Octavian glared.

"I'm on my way up to you, sir, I'm homing on your signal."

Valerie frowned, noticing the slight glimmer of hope and relief on the Doctor's face. "Well done, Bob. Scared keeps you fast, told you, didn't I? Your friends, Bob, what did the Angel do to them?"

"Snapped their necks, sir."

Amy's face scrunched up in confusion. "V? You told me they send people back in time."

Valerie bit her lip hard. "Unless they needed the bodies for something," she whispered ominously.

The Doctor nodded vigorously. "Right. That's not how the Angels kill you, they displace you in time," the Doctor paused, repeating Valerie's words. "Unless they needed the bodies for something. But what?"

Octavian grabbed the radio. "Bob, did you check their data packs for vital signs? We may be able to initiate a rescue plan―"

"―Don't be an idiot! The Angels don't leave you alive!" The Doctor scolded him, snatching the radio back. "Bob, keep running, but tell me, how did you escape?"

"I didn't escape, sir." An ominous feeling set in, understanding and terror stitched together wrapped them all in. Valerie's eyes darted to meet Amy's and River's, the latters unable to wrap their heads around Bob's words. "The Angel killed me, too."

The Doctor hesitated, sharing glances with Octavian. "What do you mean the Angel killed you too?"

Valerie swallowed a lump in her throat, letting go of Amy's hands to wrap herself. "Exactly as he said, 'Doc. He snapped his neck."

"Snapped my neck, sir," Bob replied, his words overlapping hers. "Wasn't as painless as I expected but it was pretty quick, so that was something."

"If you're dead, how can I be talking to you?" the Doctor inquired.

"You're not talking to me, sir. The Angel has no voice," informed Bob. "It stripped my cerebral cortex from my body and re-animated a version of my consciousness to communicate with you. Sorry about the confusion."

"So when you say you're on your way up to us..."

"t's the Angel that's coming, sir, yes."

"No way out," the Doctor murmured grimly, his eyes landing on Valerie.

"Then we get out through the wreckage. Go!" Octavian yelled out, leading his clerics.

"Go, go, go. All of you run!" The Doctor readily ushered them out, pushing them ahead.

Valerie turned. "'Doc―"

"Yes, I'm coming, just go, go, go!" The Doctor leaned over to plant a kiss on Valerie's forehead. He gently shoved her ahead. "Go."

Valerie scoffed, crossing her arms defiantly. "Uh, no. There's no way I'm abandoning you." Despite her words and the composed tone in her voice, it was her eyes that betrayed her; a heart-wrenching dread that stained her eyes. She prayed the Doctor hadn't seen.

His eyes softened, as though he can see the fear in her. "You, oh, you're trouble." He reached over, grasping her hand tightly.

"Don't I know it?" Valerie smiled, though it never reached her eyes.

As Amy and River headed out with the clerics, the Doctor, Valerie and Octavian remained.

The Doctor turned to face Octavian. "Called you an idiot. Sorry, but there's no way we could have rescued your men."

"I know that, sir," Octavian said primly. "And when you've flown away in your little blue box, I'll explain that to their families." Promptly, he turned and walked off.

Although the Doctor kept his expression unfazed, Valerie knew that Octavian's words took a toll. She squeezed his hand, rubbing her thumb over it in reassurance. The Doctor squeezed her hand back thankfully, using his free hand to speak into the radio.

"Angel Bob, which Angel am I talking to? The one from the ship?"

Valerie paused, taking in her hand with wide eyes. Horror gripped her heart as it pounded against her ribcage. A white noise dampened everything else, leaving her ears listening to the quick beat of her heart and the muffled voice of the Doctor. Her hand. Despite her best efforts, her fist didn't clench or twitch or anything. It remained in its relaxed yet firm pose.

 _What the fuck?_ Her hand took a grey hue, replacing its earlier tan. She let out a shaky breath. "'Doc..."

"Ah, so the Angel is not in the wreckage. Thank you," the Doctor tugged on her hand. Valerie stumbled, tripping against strayed stones. The Doctor whirled around. "Val? Are you alright?" He bent down to face her.

"'Doc, my hand, it's stone," she whimpered, her unease showing through. Her hand had found itself situated against a rock, rigid in its place.

The Doctor's eyes narrowed dangerously, darting between her hand and her face. He whips out his torch, flashing it in her eyes. "You looked into the eyes of an Angel, didn't you?"

The Doctor's previous words rang in her mind like an echo. "You know me, I love a good piece of art, get it? 'Cause it's a statue..." she jested good-naturedly, though her lips wobbled with trepidation. "'Doc, what's going to happen to me?" Even though she's seen the episode, knew details of it, she didn't know what was going to happen. She couldn't, for the life of her, remember.

"Listen." The Doctor reached over to grasp her face between his hands. "It's messing with your head. Your hand is not made of stone."

"But―"

"It's in your mind. I promise you," he reassured her, his hands moving to hover her stone hand. "You can move that hand, Val. You can let go."

She glanced down, watching her hand with furrowed eyebrows. When nothing happened, she shook her head.

"I'm sorry 'Doc, but I can't. I've tried, I can't," she bit her lip, her eyes watering. In her blurred vision, she can see the Doctor's torchlight beginning to flicker. "'Doc, you gotta go."

"The Angel is gonna come and it's gonna turn this light off, and then there's nothing I can do to stop it. So do it," urged the Doctor, alarmed. "Concentrate, _move your hand_."

Valerie trembled. _Come on, Sargent, it's not stone, you know it's not stone._ She shook her head. "I can't."

"Then we're both going to die."

Her gaze snapped up, alarmed. " _You_ are not going to die," she retorted, her voice pleading. "'Doc, please, go, you _have_ to go. Amy needs you. _River_ needs you."

" _I_ need you,"he argued defiantly. "I'm not leaving you; not now, not ever."

Although her heart warmed at his words, her worry overtook whatever romanticism that gripped her. "Un-fucking-believable," she breathed out, shaking her head. "There's no time to be some sort of sympathetic idiot, you need to go! _Leave_ me."

"Rather be a dead sympathetic idiot than let―" He paused, snapping his mouth closed. An odd look glazed over his face. "Never mind that, I'm _not_ leaving you."

"'Doc―" The light flickers off. Over his shoulder, Valerie can see the Angels inching closer to them. "Come on, 'Doc, you gotta go. You got things to do in the future, with Amy, and River. It has to happen. You're not allowed to die here."

The Time Lord shook his head vehemently. "Time can be re-written, it doesn't work like that."

"I'll be damned if it does!" She snapped, her eyes focusing on the Angels form.

"Keep your eyes on it, Val," the Doctor said. "Don't blink and do _not_ look at the eyes."

"'Doc. Doctor, run, _please_. Just go," Valerie pleaded, desperate for him to be safe. Had it been anyone else, Valerie wouldn't have protested so much. But this was the Doctor, her hero, her childhood in the flesh, she did not want him to go. Not if she can help it.

"You see, I'm not going, I'm not leaving you here."

"I'm not even important!" Valerie sniffed. "I'm just a university student! I've got no one. But _you_ , oh, you have people. You've got someone. Amy. River. Don't let them suffer at my expense."

"No, you're wrong," the Doctor murmured, letting his hands rest on her cold cheeks. "You're Valerie Sargent. My fierce, brilliant Valerie. You are worth _more_ than you know, _more_ than you think. _Never_ say that you got no one 'cause you got me. I promise you, I'll never leave you," he swore, his words a promise that he sought to be true. "Now, move your hand."

"Can't you just _go_?" Valerie hissed, her voice cracking as the Angels crept closer. One step too close. "We already established that I can't. Doctor, you gotta give up and go! Those people need _you_ to save them and if you stay, I don't know what I'd do."

"Oh, Valerie Sargent," the Doctor's breath hitched. "You fantastic, brilliant, you. I'm sorry."

Hope rose in her. "Please tell you're actually going." Despite the fact that she had argued so hard for him to leave her, another, smaller part of her cried. She didn't want to die alone, selfish as it is. It took everything for her to beg for the Doctor to leave and just when he's about to, her cowardice seized her. _Don't leave me._

"Oh, no, I'm not leaving you. Never," the Doctor declared, earning a startled stare. "And I'm sorry about this." He snatched her hand and bit down.

"Ow!" Valerie yelped, the sudden pain causing her snatch her hand away. When her eyes landed on her palm, it was brown and red with the Doctor's teeth left marks on it. "You bit me!"

The Doctor beamed. "Uh-huh, and you're alive."

"What the _fuck_ ―!"

The Doctor pulled her up, pushing her behind him. "Language, Val," he scolded lightly. "You're alive, did I mention?"

Valerie spluttered in disbelief. "Don't tell me what to do! You _bit_ me!"

She swallowed a lump on her throat, feelings of unknown origin just sweeping through her. Her cheeks had turned into a beet red, heating up in her own embarrasement and adrenaline. She genuinely couldn't believe him, the audacity, the stupidity that was the Doctor.

"Alive. All I'm saying."

Valerie laughed. A loud, booming sound with heavy exhales in-between. It was a laugh of relief and thanks. The sound echoed as her and the Doctor bolted, leaving the Angels in the dust. They rushed towards the cavern, where the others were.

"Yeah, it's the Angels. They're coming," the Doctor called out as they arrived. "And they're draining the power for themselves."

"Which means we won't be able to see them," Octavian realized.

"Which means we can't stay here."

"There are more incoming!" A cleric called out.

River looked around. "Any suggestions?"

"The statues are advancing on all sides and we don't have the climbing equipment to reach the Byzantium," informed Octavian. His words garnered a tense, anxious atmosphere that sent Valerie fidgeting under the pressure.

"There's no way up, no way back, no way out," River turned to face Valerie and the Doctor, her gaze softening upon landing on Valerie. It was clear to the latter that the situation was getting to River. "No pressure, but this is usually when either of you have a _really_ good idea."

"There's always a way out," the Doctor declared, the lights flickering on and off again. Each time they return, the Angels crept closer, blocking the passage. "There's always a way out."

Valerie reached over to clasp her hands on River's. "Don't worry, River, we'll get out of here safe and sound. I promise you that."

River smiled, grateful. "Oh, what would I do without a reassurance from my darling?" She crowed, earning a flustered smile from the younger woman.

The radio crackled followed by Angel Bob's voice. "Doctor? Can I speak to the Doctor, please?"

"Hello, Angels. What's your problem?" The Doctor's voice was light in its tone, sounding as though he was simply conversing about the weather. But everyone in the same vicinity knew that there was something brewing.

"Your power will not last much longer, and the Angels will be with you shortly. Sorry, sir." Despite the small apology, Angel Bob's words were anything but apologetic. Valerie bit her lip, her eyes straying to the Doctor's face.

The Doctor furrowed his eyebrows. "Why are you telling me this?"

"There's something the Angels are very keen you should know before the end."

"Which is?"

"I died in fear."

It took everything for Valerie to not snatch the device out of the Doctor's hand and hurling it at the Weeping Angels. She was furious. The _nerve_ of them, using a dead man's voice, his emotions, his being, to anger the Doctor. Her head pounded, causing her clutch it tightly.

The Doctor frowned, confused. "I'm sorry?"

"You told me my fear would keep me alive but I died afraid, in pain and alone. You made me trust you, and when it mattered, you let me down."

She wasn't the only who was angered. The Doctor's face had turned dark, his teeth clenched in a quiet fury. He reached over to clasp his hand over hers, squeezing it tightly.

Amy leaned over to River, whispering. "What are they doing?"

"They're trying to make them angry," River murmured, somber. Her eyes strayed between the Doctor and Valerie, taking note of the tenseness of the Doctor's shoulders and the tight line Valerie's lips formed.

"I'm sorry, sir. The Angels were very keen for you to know that." Valerie scoffed mutedly, grumbling under her breath.

"Well then, the Angels have made their second mistake because I'm not going to let that pass. I'm sorry you're dead, Bob, but I swear to whatever is left of you, they will be sorrier." The Doctor's words was not simply a threat. They were words of promise, that he would punish them for what they have done. His tone sent shivers down Valerie's spine.

The Doctor's words, no matter how intimidating they sounded, didn't fazed Angel Bob. "May I speak to Miss Sargent? A little word with her."

Valerie tensed, utterly bewildered by the sudden request. The Doctor's frown deepened, half-tempted to ignore the Angel's request. Then, albeit reluctantly, he handed her the radio, squeezing her free hand assuringly.

"Yes?"

"To know what happens next, ma'am, is truly a gift," Angel Bob began, his apathetic voice sending a chill down her spine. "The Soothsayer, one who knows all and beyond but cares not."

 _What?_ "Pardon?"

"You knew that I was going to die," Angel Bob accused lightly. "That they were coming. And you didn't say anything. How powerful you must feel, Miss Sargent, to know everything. The Angels are envious."

Valerie swallowed a lump on her throat. "I, I don't _―_ " Her golden tan had gone considerably pale, her face twisted into one of guilt and remorse. She had no words. Angel Bob was right in saying that. She hadn't warn Bob of his impending Death, nor had she outright warned the others about the Angels. Although she can say that it was supposed to happen, that the universe fated for this, nothing can stop the onset of guilty that flooded her.

 _I did this. I let it happen without a moment's notice._ Valerie ducked her head, guilt and regret crashing in unto her like a furious wave. She didn't need to look over at Octavian to know the man was furious. She couldn't blame him. She had let his clerics, his men, die when they could've been saved. But she couldn't, not unless she wanted the whole scenario changed entirely. She couldn't risk the Doctor, River or Amy just for a chance to let a few men live.

 _God. Three trips in and I'm thinking like_ this.

The Doctor snatched the device out of her hand. "Enough," the Doctor growled, his face tight with a silent fury. "You wanted me angry and now you have gone and done it." A silent but certain threat laced his words.

"What does he mean?" Octavian whirled around to face her. "You knew? You _knew_?" The harsh tone of his words made her wince.

"Now is not the time, Bishop," the Doctor said, a warning underlying his words. He turned back to the radio. "I'm sorry that you're dead, Bob, but I swear to whatever is left of you, they will be sorrier."

"But you're trapped, sir, and about to die," the Angel pointed out, confused.

"Yeah, I'm trapped," the Doctor agreed readily. "Speaking of traps, this trap has got a great big mistake in it. A great big, _whopping_ mistake!"

"What mistake, sir?" The Doctor paid no heed to the Angel as he whirled around to face the others.

"Trust me?" He asked Amy.

The redhead smiled. "Obviously." The Doctor faced River.

"Trust me?"

River smiled, meaningful in its smile gesture. "Of course."

The Doctor turned to Octavian and his clerics. "You lot―trust me?"

"Sir, two more incoming!" A cleric yelled out as Octavian hesitated, his gaze was levelled unto to Valerie.

"We have faith, sir," he nodded begrudgingly.

The Doctor turned Valerie over to face him, his hands landing on her cheeks. He stared at her intensely, his gaze never straying. "Everything's going to be okay, I promise you, Val." He leaned over to place a dainty kiss on her forehead. He pulled away, keeping his hands rested on her warming cheeks. "Do you trust me?"

Valerie's breath hitched before she nodded tentatively. There was something unspoken in his words, an underlying meaning. Something passed between them and she wasn't even aware of it.

"With my life."

She was surprised to hear how genuine she felt. This was her third trip with the Doctor and already she's finding herself trusting him with everything she's got. To think, this man was merely a fictional character to her was now someone more. Someone worth protecting, worth trusting. Then again, she thought, _he's always been more than that._

"That's my girl."

The Doctor beamed, ruffling her hair before he turns to Octavian. "Give me your gun." The Bishop hands him his gun. "I'm about to do something incredibly stupid and dangerous. When I do, jump." To emphasize his words, the Doctor jumped in place.

"Jump where?" asked Octavian, his eyebrows knitted in confusion.

"Just jump, high as you can. Come on, leap of faith, Bishop. On my signal."

"What signal?"

"You won't miss it." The Doctor lifted his gun, aiming it at the ceiling.

The radio crackled. "Sorry, can I ask again? You mentioned a mistake?" Angel Bob inquired.

"Oh, big mistake. Huge. There's one thing you _never_ put in a trap, if you're _smart_ , if you _value_ your continued existence, if you have _any_ plans about seeing tomorrow, there is _one_ thing you never, ever put in a trap."

Valerie shivered. Here it was, in the flesh and live before her eyes; the Oncoming Storm. She forgets that the man holding her hand, her hero since she was a kid, was someone that can cause armies to turn and high tail away. He was the sort of man who smiled and bounced around like a child. And yet, he was also the same sort of man whose fury is never quelled if provoked. There was a storm coming and they were at the eye of it.

"And what would that be, sir?"

A smirk curled at the Doctor's lips.

"Me!"

A gun-shot rang, echoing in the silence as the gravity globe exploded.

* * *

 **A/N: A bit short but this is probably my favourite chapter yet. One of my favourite lines is this, can you guess which one it is? Anyways, the past few reviews are so sweet and really appreciated, you guys have no idea how grateful I am to hear such support from you guys!**


	8. Flesh and Stone: To the Inevitable

**FOR THE TIME BEING**

* * *

"I have a deeply hidden and inarticulate desire for something beyond the daily life."

— **Virginia Woolf** \- from _Moments of Being (via incandesccence)_

* * *

The gun shot rang in her ears, thrumming like an echo as Valerie jumped. Her heart raced with adrenaline and shock, her ass aching from the landing. She glanced at Amy, silently relieved that she wasn't the only one on her butt. She glanced up, realizing that they were on the bottom of _Byzantium._ Valerie looked around, her legs wobbling as she rose. She wasn't the only one struggling to get on her feet.

The Doctor stood. "Up, look up!"

River examined Amy worried. "You okay?" She asked.

"What happened?" Amy rubbed her head, frowning in bewilderment.

"We jumped."

"Jumped where?"

"Up, up, look up!" The Doctor repeated, pacing around.

"Where are we?" asked Amy, still disorientated.

"Exactly where we were," replied River.

Amy shook her head in disbelief. "No, we're not."

"Yeah," Valerie reached over to pat Amy's shoulder reassuringly. "We're on the hull of the ship."

The Doctor crouched down beside a small, black hatch. "Move your feet!" He ordered, nudging her ankles before he began sonicing the hatch.

"We're on the hull of Byzantium? How?" Amy asked, looking around. "Explain."

Valerie nodded. She, too, wanted to know. Gravity was a simple concept to know but it gets harder from there. And she really wanted an elaborate explaination on how that worked. She watched the Doctor, reminding herself that she'll ask later.

"The artificial gravity. One good jump," the Doctor jumped in emphasis. "and up we fell. Shot out the grav-globe to give us an updraft, and here we are!" He knelt down, returning to his previous task.

Valerie looked over the Doctor's shoulder. "Whatcha doin' now, 'Doc?"

The Doctor opened his mouth to reply, only for Octavian to cut in. "Doctor. The statues, they look more like Angels now."

"They're feeding on the radiation from the wreckage, draining all the power from the ship, restoring themselves. Within an hour, they'll be an army!"

As the indentation opens up into the ship, the lights flicker, beginning to go out. Valerie shivered, the feeling of dread returning.

"Ah, shit, they're taking out the lights," she breathed, turning to the Doctor. "Whatever plan you've got, it better be a damn good one, 'Doc."

The Doctor nodded, shooting her a reassuring look. "Right, look at them, look at the Angels. Into the ship, now, quickly all of you!" He dived into the hole.

"Uh, yeah, mind explaining how?" Valerie peered over, seeing the Doctor standing upright. She blinked, slightly impressed. "Man, that's so cool," she mumbled.

"It's just a corridor; the gravity orientates to the floor," he said simply, surveying the area. To further explain, he chuck his sonic screwdriver down and caught. "Now, in here, all of you, don't take your eyes off the Angels. Move, move, move!" He moved over, his sonic screwdriver wheezing as he worked on the keypad.

Valerie met Amy's eyes, noting the baffled look the redhead was shooting her. The brunette simply shrugged before she threw herself into the hole, stumbling a bit. It was only moments later that River and Amy followed, the redhead grabbing unto Valerie's arm for security.

"Okay, men, go, go, go!" Octavian gestured, as he jumped down to join the Doctor. "The Angels, presumably they can jump up too?"

Valerie chewed on her lip, blocking out any sort of noise. The small of her back heated up, feeling herself getting antsy under pressure. The only sound she could hear was the muffled sound of the door shutting close.

The Doctor's eyes narrowed in alarm. "They're here. Now. In the dark, we're finished. Run!" He whirled around, only to see a large door behind them just shutting to a close, blocking out any sort of escape.

"This whole place is a death trap," Octavian said as his eyes darted around for any escapes.

"No, it's a time bomb. Well, it's a death trap _and_ a time bomb," the Doctor amended casually.

" _Wow,_ that's _so_ reassuring," Valerie hissed, smacking him repeatedly. Although the Doctor was someone who she can easily rely on, his words of comfort were anything _but_ comforting.

He winced slightly, rubbing his forearm. "And now it's a dead end. Nobody panic."

"When you tell people to not panic," Valerie muttered bitingly, her eyes narrowing at the exterior door. Sparks flew and she flinched. "They fucking panic."

The Doctor pinched her nose. Valerie blinked. "Language, Val," he scolds lightly. He examined everyone else's expressions. All of them retained their own composure. " Just us two, then. What's through here?"

"Secondary flight deck," River replied as her eyes strayed towards it.

"Okay, so we've basically run up the inside of a chimney, yeah?" Amy shifted, looking vaguely nervous. "So what if the gravity fails?"

River headed over to the hatch on the wall, twisting wires. Valerie titled her head curiously, hovering over the woman's shoulder.

"What are you doing?" Valerie asked.

"I'm working on bypassing the power," River answered, shootng Valerie a smile over her shoulder.

Valerie nodded. "Well, I'm no good with that sort but 'ya need a hand?"

River grinned slyly, her lips curling like there's an inside joke Valerie didn't know of. "I would love a hand. Thank you, Valerie, darling."

Slightly perturbed by the subtle flirting, Valerie awkwardly shifted close to River. She eyed the wires, her mind racing as she twisted them into specific places. Valerie hoped that she was doing this right and that the one electromechanics course she took would do her justice.

"—The security protocols are still live. There's no way to override them, it's impossible." Valerie lifted her eyes off the hatch, a small smile playing on her face. Impossible, at least, in the Doctor's dictionary, is simply probable.

"How impossible?" Valerie called out.

The Doctor beamed, his eyes glinting knowingly. "Two minutes."

As if on cue, the hum of the engines powers down. The door they had used prior reopened, revealing the cavern outside. Valerie gripped her forehead, her head beginning to ache. She rubbed her eyes hard, colors popping in her obscured vision.

"The hull is breached and the power's failing," Octavian observed, his tone grim.

The lights dimmed and then the room darkened. Valerie's eyes snapped open, seeing a stone arm just reaching through the opening. Bile rose up on her throat as she shifted closer to River. She duck her head down, hastening her pace. _Oh, fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck._

"Sir! Incoming!"

"Doctor, lights!" Amy called out hurriedly.

Hurriedly, the Doctor used his sonic to help River and Valerie. As the sonic screwdriver whirred, its green light flashing; the room brightened slightly. Valerie didn't need to look over her shoulder to see an Angel approaching them. The lights flickered before returning, brighter than last time. Valerie could feel her heart just beating out its own samba. She chewed her lip hard, whimpering slightly.

"Oh, god, oh god," she muttered, barely audible for anyone else hear. Her eyes widened, spotting four more Weeping Angels within distance. " _That_ is fucking terrifying."

"Clerics, keep watching them," ordered Octavian.

"And don't look at their eyes. Anywhere else. Not the eyes," the Doctor added quickly. The lights returned as the Doctor made his way towards the door. "I've isolated the lighting grid. They can't drain the power now."

"Good work, Doctor," Octavian complimented.

"Yes. good. Good in many ways, good you like it so far..."

"So _far_?" Valerie squeaked out. She shared concerned looks with Amy. "What else are you planning?"

"Well," the Doctor drawled out, digging through the wires of a panel. "There's only one way to open this door. I guess I'll need to route all the power in this section through the door control."

Valerie shot him a look of disbelief. _Wait what?_ It was truly outstanding to know that she's putting her life in his hands. His next action was a gamble and she didn't know if she was willing to risk it.

"Good, fine, do it," the Bishop urged, nodding.

"He said _all_ of the power," Valerie said, emphasizing on the 'all'. Her eyes were wide, looking on the verge of hysterics. "That includes the lights."

Octavian's frowned deepened. "How long for?"

"Fraction of a second, maybe longer." The Doctor grimaced, rubbing his face. "Maybe quite a bit longer."

"Maybe?" Octavian repeated, incredulous.

"I'm guessing," the Doctor spluttered defensively. "We're being attacked by statues in a crashed ship, there isn't a manual for this!"

"What?"

Valerie snorted despite the dread filling her. "You'll find, Bishop," she drawled out, letting out a deep breath. "That he often works in 'maybes' and 'guesses'."

"We lost the torches," Amy pointed out, anxious.

Valerie winced at her words. "We'd be in complete darkness," she said, her voice cracking at the very thought. Valerie didn't do well in the dark, even if it were just a few seconds. Something about the deep, dark abyss often shook her whole core.

"No other way." The Doctor's eyes softened. He reached over and rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand, a silent apology in his action. "Bishop?"

The man in question turned to River. "Dr. Song, I've lost good Clerics today. You trust them?"

River's reply was instantaneous. "I absolutely trust them."

"He's not some kind of mad man, then?" Octavian nodded towards the Doctor who had gone to work on the door.

There was a pause before she repeated firmly. "I absolutely trust them."

Octavian, however, didn't seem satisfied as his gaze landed on Valerie. "What about her? The Angels said that she knew what happened, knows what's going to happen next. And yet, she simply stood by and didn't say anything."

Valerie flinched, biting her lip. The Bishop was right in saying that. She _had_ stood by and did nothing. Not even giving Bob and the others a fair warning. If anything, she had simply forgotten about it in the mess of her own problems. A selfish act, made by a selfish girl.

"I trust her. With my life." River glared at Octavian. As if just to spite him, she grasped Valerie's hand, squeezing it tightly.

"People died," Octavian said. "My men _died_."

Valerie's voice shook as she spoke up. "And I'm sorry, Bishop," she said, lifting her eyes to meet his. "I'm so sorry that they're—they're dead and I let it happen. I'm so sorry that you lost your men today. But I'm—not sorry of doing it."

"You let people die, and you're not sorry for it?"

"It was that or risking a paradox, Bishop," River cut in tightly.

Octavian glared at them before he pulled River aside to a private corner, whispering furiously at her. Valerie narrowed her eyes, taking notice of River's grim expression. She didn't like the look on her face nor did she like the tone of his voice.

"I do hope, Bishop," Valerie called out. "That you're not blaming her right now." Despite the unsteadiness of her voice, it held a threatening tone to it.

Octavian didn't reply, his glare simply darkening. He turned away, facing the Doctor. Valerie's lips tugged down, displeased as she shifted closer to River.

"You good there, River?" Valerie asked, concerned.

River nodded, smiling reassuringly. "I'm alright, darling."

"Bless you, Bishop," the Doctor remarked loudly, his gaze landing on one of the doors.

A stiff nod and Octavian called out orders to his clerics. Valerie took the chance the approach the Doctor, joining him and Amy.

"Anything I can do?" She blinked rapidly, vision spinning. Valerie pointedly ignored the pounding headache. She felt like a burden, especially after what just happened. She felt as though she needed to redeem herself in some way or form. Or, at the very least, give a helping hand.

"I think Amy needs a hand," he gestured towards Amy. He headed his way towards the panel, explaining. "When the lights go down, the wheel should release. Spin it clockwise, four turns."

Valerie hummed. She headed over towards the door where Amy was, flashing the redhead a tentative smile. "Ready?"

"Only if you are," Amy replied, licking her lips nervously. "Four turns, yeah?"

Valerie nodded. "Uh-huh. Ten."

Amy shot her an odd look. "Uh, no, four turns."

"Yeah, I know," Valerie said, acting as though she hasn't said the number ten.

Amy frowned but didn't say a word.

The Doctor rushed to the panel, pointing his sonic screwdriver at it. "Ready!"

"On my count then," Octavian surveyed the room. "God be with us all. Three... two...one." In a simple blink, the room blackened. "Fire!"

The clerics jumped at the order, firing shot after shot at the Weeping Angels. Meanwhile, Valerie struggled to get the door open alongside River, Amy and the Doctor. In the midst of its chaos, all Valerie could hear was the ringing of white noise, adding to her already pounding headache. Relief washed over her as they bolted through the corridor, forcing the next door open in their haste.

The clerics moved in the perimeter around them as they headed straight to the control panel. Valerie felt her stomach clench at the sight. The whole flight deck was in major disrepair, exposed wires covering the console like vines. She blinked rapidly, her vision obscuring.

River turned to her in concern. "Are you alright, darling?"

"No," she groaned, rubbing her eyes hard. "Something's...something's wrong, I don't know what but..." She flinched at the sound of Amy's loud voice.

A frowned marred the older woman's face. She led Valerie closer to the walls, rubbing her back in circles. Before she could examine Valerie any further however, the wheel turned, the sound churning. Both of their eyes snapped up to look at the door, eyes wide.

"Dear God!" Octavian took a step back.

"Ah, now you're getting it!" The Doctor nodded, moving around. "You've bought us time though, that's good. I am good with time."

Valerie scoffed loudly, momentarily forgetting her headache for a moment. "Right." The Doctor shot her a sour look.

"Doctor!" Amy called out in alarm, noticing another wheel turning.

"Seal that door. Seal it now!" Octavian ordered, the cleric scurrying to place a magnetic device on the second door.

"We're surrounded," River said, her hand circling around Valerie's.

"Shit, shit. We're fucked, we are fucked," Valerie swore, watching the third door spin open. Another cleric scrambling to place another device on the door as per Octavian's orders.

Octavian whirled to face the Doctor. "Doctor, how long have we got?"

"Five minutes, max," replied the Doctor, his gaze surveying the console intently.

"Nine," Valerie blurted out, garnering troubled looks from the Doctor and River.

The Doctor frowned. "Five."

"We got five minutes, I know," Valerie said, noting the look on the Doctor's face. She crossed her arms, her stomach churning in unease.

"Why'd you say nine?"

 _Oh._

A thought struck Valerie. Her hazel eyes narrowed, her tanned skin gone considerably pale as she stared at him. She gulped. "Did I now?"

 _Not good, not good,_ she thought. _I know now. I remember._ Inwardly, Valerie cursed at herself, at her memory, at everything. She knew why she thought her hand was stone now.

River tensed beside her. "We need another way out of here," she said urgently, gesturing towards the opening doors.

 _"_ There isn't one," Octavian retorted.

"Shut up, Negative Nancy," said Valerie. "There's always another way out."

"Right you are, Val!" The Doctor nodded readily. "This is a galaxy class ship, goes for years between planet-falls. So," he snapped his fingers. "What do they need?"

River whirled around to face him. "Of course."

"Ah." Valerie blinked. The Doctor snapped his fingers approvingly, nodding eagerly at the two women.

Amy furrowed her eyebrows, looking between her companions. "Of course, what? What do they need?"

"Can we get in there?" Octavian asked, realization dawning on him as well.

"Well, it's a sealed unit, but they must have installed it somehow. This whole wall should slide up." The Doctor headed over to a wall, kneeling down beside its base. "There's clamps. Release the clamps!" He whipped his sonic screwdriver at it, the device buzzing.

"What's through there?" Amy asked, still not quite getting it. "What do they need?"

"They need to breathe," said River. All of them watched as the wall rose, revealing itself to them. Amy gaped, dumbstruck. The Doctor was beaming alongside Valerie, throwing his arm around her shoulders.

Amy blanched. "But that's... That's a..."

Right before their eyes was a forest, brimming with green lush and trees. It was filled with vegetation all around. For a moment, Valerie could forget the imminent danger. The scent of nature filled her nostrils and she greedily inhaled it. She savoured the scent of dirt and leaves, knowing full well she might not get out of this.

"Wow," she breathed out.

"It's an oxygen factory," said River.

"It's a forest," said Amy.

"Yeah, it's a forest, it's an oxygen factory," amended River, rolling her eyes good-naturedly.

"And, if we're lucky," the Doctor cut in, a twinkle of hope. "An escape route."

"Eight."

River turned to her, a frown marring her face. "What did you say?"

"Nothing?" said Valerie, brows furrowing in question. She met the Doctor's eyes, an unreadable expression marred his face. He turned away.

"Is there another exit? Scan the architecture, we don't have time to get lost in there."

"On it!" Octavian called out dutifully, stepping into the forest. "Stay where you are until I've checked the Rad levels."

"But trees! On a space ship?" Amy said incredulously, eying the forest.

Valerie nodded in agreement. "It's cool, yeah, but how'd they manage that?"

"You're going to love this," the Doctor exclaimed, stepping into the forest. He moved over to open a section of peat moss, revealing circuitry. "Treeborgs... Trees plus technology. Branches become cables, become sensors on the hull. A forest sucking in starlight, breathing out air. It even rains. There's a whole mini-climate. It is an eco-pod running through the heart of the ship. A forest in a bottle, on a space ship, in a maze." The Doctor rattled, turning to face the two girls. Although his eyes landed on Valerie.

"Have I impressed you yet, Valerie Sargent?"

Valerie shook her head, smiling with mirth. "You think you're so great, eh?"

The Doctor puffed up his chest. "Not just great, Val, dear, I am impressive."

Valerie snorted. "Seven."

The Doctor's previous expression dimmed. "Seven?"

"What?" Valerie turned to face him as he stomped towards her.

"You said seven," he said gravelly. He examined her face.

"I what? But I don't—"

"Yes, you did," River cut in. Her own face was sullen, concern cut at the edges of her lips.

Before any of them could say a word however, Octavian spoke up. "Doctor! There's an exit, far end of the ship, into the Primary Flight Deck."

The Doctor inclined his head in acknowledgement, though his gaze never strayed from Valerie's face. Valerie shifted awkwardly, averting her own gaze to her boots. "Good, that's where we need to go."

"Plotting a safe path now."

"Quick as you like!" The Doctor waved him off. His green eyes took a darker shade as he examined her. Valerie didn't know what was louder, her racing heart or the white noise in her ears.

"'Doc, you're a bit close—"

A radio crackled, cutting her off effectively. "Doctor? Excuse me. Hello, Doctor? Angel Bob here, sir."

The Doctor whipped out the radio, moving over to sit down on the commander chair. "Ah. there you are, Angel Bob. How's life?" He paused, realizing his words. "Sorry, bad subject."

Valerie moved behind the Doctor, listening intently. It was times like these that she wondered what she did to deserve this. All she wanted was getting her PhD and getting a job at NASA or something, not running from stone Angels that can hurl you back into time.

All she wanted was to study the universe. And here is, a whole universe away from her own home and she was out of her time. In a fictional world. With her favourite character. How basic can you possibly get?

"The Angels are wondering what you hope to achieve."

"Achieve?" The Doctor hummed, his tone light. "We're not achieving anything. We're just hanging. It's nice in here, consoles, comfy chairs, a forest. How's things with you?"

"The Angels are feasting, sir," said Angel Bob. "Soon we will be able to absorb enough power to consume this vessel, this world, and all the stars and worlds beyond."

"Well, we've got comfy chairs, did I mention?"

"We have no need of comfy chairs."

The Doctor's lips curled triumphantly as he turned to Valerie. "I made him say comfy chairs!"

Valerie slapped her hand over her mouth, holding back laughter. "Six."

"Okay, well, enough chat," the Doctor stood up, his posture tense. "Here's what I want to know: what have you done to Valerie?"

"There is something in her eye."

The Doctor whirled around to face her, eyes narrowed dangerously. "What's in her eye?"

"We are." Angel Bob's voice was apathetic but there was a gleeful tone laced in his words.

Valerie took a step back. "Geez, too close for comfort, 'Doc. I'm five." She paused, dread filling her. "Five. Five. Yeah, okay, never mind, I'm not five—oh my fucking god— _fine._ "

"You're counting," said River.

Valerie chewed on her lip, nodding in confirmation. She really had no idea how to get out of this. She can feel her shoulders relax, her posture slouching. She yawned, blinking through tears. She was tired. Exhausted.

"You're counting down. From ten," the Doctor concluded, concern marring his face. "You have been for a couple of minutes."

"To my imminent death?" Valerie joked, her voice cracking. "Nice."

Amy frowned. "That's not funny. Don't joke about that." She shifted closer to Valerie, staying close in case. "Counting to what, Doctor?"

"I don't know."

"I literarily just said it," said Valerie. "It's death. I'm dying." Nobody paid any heed to her words.

"Wait..." Amy trailed off, rounding on her as realization dawned her. "That's supposed to be me, isn't it? That's why you told me not to..."

Valerie shrugged. "Yeah, I suppose. But I didn't know this was supposed to happen, I just knew that you could get us out of the room and I thought it'd be quicker if you didn't have to worry about getting hurled into time—"

"—Why? Why would you do that?" Amy asked, her lip quivering. She shook her hard. "Stupid. That was stupid, you're stupid."

Despite the harsh words, it was easy to tell that Amy cared for her. It warmed her heart to know that. Maybe that was why she didn't feel as scared as she should be. Well, she's still scared out of her wits. But considerably less so than normal.

"I'd do anything to ensure you, the Doctor and River are safe, Amy," Valerie said. "Even if it meant sending me to my death."

The Doctor shook his head vehemently. "Not if I have anything to say about it."

"We shall take her," Angel Bob's voice declared. "We shall take all of you. We shall have dominion over all time and space."

The Doctor sighed, plopping himself unto the chair. "Get a life, Bob. Oops, sorry again. There's power on this ship, but nowhere _near_ that much."

"With respect, sir, there is more power on this ship than you yet understand."

A loud, ear-gnarring screech echoed, startling everyone. Valerie's hands shot up to her ears, swearing profusely at the noise.

"What the fuck was that?"

"Dear God..." River breathed.

"They're back," said Octavian.

"It's hard to put in your terms, Miss Sargent, but as best I understand it, the Angels are laughing."

Valerie shivered, goosebumps rising. _Laughing?_ That _was laughing? What the actual fuck._ Valerie glanced up, her heart hammering as she caught sight of it. There, brimming with some unspoken power was a crack on the wall. _Amy's_ crack on the wall. _Her_ crack on the wall. _Oh._ She knew this would happen, she dreaded it even. But seeing it in the flesh, in all of its eerie glory, was a scary feeling indeed.

She hadn't realized the same crack on Amy's wall was the same as hers.

"Laughing?"

"Because you haven't noticed yet. The Doctor in the TARDIS hasn't noticed," Angel Bob sing-songed, his tone mocking.

"Doctor—" Octavian started, only to be shushed by the Doctor

"No, wait, there's something I've..." The Doctor stood up, turning slowly. "...missed." There was a pause, a calm before the storm before the Doctor rushed forward.

Amy gaped, terrified. "That's... That's like the crack from my bedroom wall from when I was a little girl."

 _It's exactly like the crack from your bedroom wall. It's exactly like the crack from my living room,_ Valerie thought as she tentatively approached the time crack. She was studying Astrophysics. To see such a phenomenon before her eyes was an event. A catastrophic event that made exhilarated the veins under her skin. Valerie didn't know if she was excited or terrified. _Both,_ she thought with a laugh, _both. Both is good._

Her mind ran, theories and equations just breezing through her thoughts as she stared at it. _Amazing._ Two cracks of space and time that should've never touched, pressed together. Cracks in the skin of the universe. A split in reality. It would explain how she got here. But how does it explain how she made it safely? Surely, she would've been ripped apart and spagettified by the force of it.

"Yes." The Doctor breathed.

Perturbed, Octavian gestured. "Okay, enough, we're moving out!"

River nodded. "Agreed. Doctor?"

"Yeah. Fine!" The Doctor waved them off, sonicking the crack.

"What are you doing?"

"Right with you."

River was about to protest but Valerie grabbed her hand. "It's fine, he'll be alright." _I'll be here with him._

The underlying message was not missed. River looked even more hesitant to leave before she nodded. River stared at her for the longest time as though she was taking her in. Valerie's eyes darted to Amy. The older woman got the hint.

"Be careful," was all she said before she grabbed onto Amy, tugging her away.

"Doctor, Valerie, come on!"

The Doctor shot her an exasperated look. "You are trouble, you know that? Trouble."

"I'm not leaving you here by yourself," she said. Then she smiled, her eyes straying to the crack. "A time crack on the wall? Like hell I'd miss the chance to study that _._ "

The Doctor scowled at her, ready to protest. She looked at him. Something in her eyes said something that made him pause. Then, he simply sighed. "Trouble, you."

Valerie grinned triumphantly. Though her expression dimmed as she suddenly remember. She plopped the Doctor's jacket onto his shoulders.

"Keep this on."

"Why?" He did as she asked, going through the sleeves.

"Don't ask." She didn't want to tell him that it was going to be the very thing that's going to save him.

"So, what are you?" The Doctor glanced down, looking at the readings from his sonic screwdriver. "Oh, that's bad. Ah, that's extremely very not good."

"What's up?" Valerie peered over his shoulder, eying the readings. For a moment, her mind whirled, as though disorientated by the sudden statistic. It took her a moment to read them. "Oh."

The Doctor hummed, pressing his ear against the wall. When he turned back to face her, his eyes narrowed in on something behind her. Her stomach churned. "Val. Valerie."

Valerie didn't need to look around to know what was behind. "I know."

"Don't blink."

His eyes flickered to meet hers. A dangerous risk. It only took one second, just a couple of moments for the Angels to grab them.

 _Fuck. Fuck. Fuck._ Adrenaline pumped through her veins and she shook, feeling the rigid grip on the collar of her vest. The pounding, pestering headache wasn't helping in the slightest. She glanced over at the Doctor who kept his gaze on the angels despite the tight hand on his jacket collar.

Valerie stared at the Doctor. She took in his styled back hair, the bow-tie, his tweed jacket and the tall, lean figure of his. He smiled (at her, she assumed), reassuring despite the panic that glints in his green eyes. She smiled back, albeit anxiously. She wasn't quite ready to sent back into time. Or get her neck snapped. They waited and waited for their imminent doom. Nothing happened.

"Why are we not dead then?" The Doctor turned nervously. Valerie followed his gaze. The Weeping Angels stood before the crack in the wall, their hands raised as though worshipping it. Valerie's eyes narrowed in understanding.

"Good, and not so good. Oh, this isn't even a little bit good. I mean, is that it? Is that the power that brought you here? That's pure time energy, you can't feed on that. That's the power, that's the fire at the end of the universe. I'll tell you something else..." A loud rumble reverberated the room.

"Never let me talk!" They bolted, leaving the tweed jacket and the black vest at the Angel's hands.

 _I made it. He made it. We made it. Oh my god._

Valerie panted heavily, forcing herself to even out her breathes. A sense of deja vu hit her and she laughed. A wheezing sound filled with an adventurous glee. "This reminds me of the time on the Moon with the Judoon Platoon."

The Doctor grinned. "Ah yes, the Judoon platoon upon the Moon."

"Hell of a time, yeah?"

Valerie smiled only for it drop as a sick feeling hit her. Her stomach lurched, her legs beginning to ache under the pressure. Her brown skin paling. The Doctor halted, noticing her considerably slower pace. He was instantly at her side.

"Val? Valerie? Valerie? What's wrong?" He whirled around, checking over her quickly. His actions were hurried and his face was pulled tight with worry. He looked around, noticing the coast was clear. For now.

With haste, he pulled her over to the trees, shrouding them from obvious view. "Valerie?"

She groaned. "Four." Her lungs were heavy, subdued by something. It physically pained her for her to breathe. Air. She was losing air. Already, she can feel the exhaustion stepping in. The running from her first trip, the mental exhaustion from her second and it was finally taking her in her third.

"'Doc, I'm tired... so tired..."

"No, no, no, no." He hoisted her up, shifting her weight in his arms as he sprinted through. "Come on, come on. Stay awake, Valerie, keep your eyes open."

* * *

 **[THE DOCTOR'S POINT OF VIEW]**

* * *

He ran. Bolted. Sprinted. He can feel his legs twinge in its soreness, can feel the carbon dioxide he was breathing out at rapid speed. His thoughts ran just as fast as he did, perhaps even faster. All he could think about was the glazed look in her eyes, the slow, uneven breathes and the dimmed smile. Valerie was in danger. The Doctor's hearts pounded heavily against his ribcage. His worry was lit, raging like a forest fire.

He can hear the others now, only a couple of feet away from him. Their voices were clear yet muffled but he was certain that he just heard Father Octavian suggest that they abandon them. And yet Doctor Song was stubborn. A mystery to both him and Valerie (at least this Valerie), he wondered what connection she held with them. Then again, perhaps it is as Amy said; are they really husband and wife?

The Doctor couldn't imagine the thought.

"Father Octavian, when Valerie or the Doctor are in the room, your only mission is to keep them alive long enough to get everyone else home. And trust me. It's not easy. It never really is, with those two. Now, if they're dead back there, I'll never forgive myself, and if they're alive, I'll never forgive them. And, you're both standing right behind me, aren't you?"

The Doctor couldn't help the smirk on his face. "Oh, yeah."

River whirled around to face him. "Oh, I hate you—" Her grin dropped, catching sight of the near unconscious Valerie in his arms. She rounded up to him, yelling at the clerics for a med-scanner. "What happened?"

"You don't," the Doctor simply said, his own smirk dimming. He didn't say much else. He didn't know what else to say. He headed over to a moss-covered rock, gently placing Valerie down. He brushed a strand away from her face as he addressed Octavian. "Bishop, the Angels are in the forest."

Octavian nodded. "We need visual contact on every line of approach."

Amy bounded over to them, peering over the Doctor's shoulder. "Oh my god, V, is she okay?"

The Doctor shrugged, his face cooling to hide his own helplessness. "I don't know."

"How did you get past them?" River asked, crouching down beside him to examine Valerie. She busied herself by wrapping the med-scanner around Valerie's arm.

"Found a crack in the wall and told them it was the end of the universe," he said nonchalantly, as though it wasn't a big deal. They were lucky to have made it alive.

"What was it?" Amy asked tentatively, clearly upset to see Valerie in this state.

"The end of the universe." The Doctor reaches over to check the med-scanner. "Let's have a look then."

The beating of his hearts muffled any sort of noise. He couldn't hear a damn thing, everything but the med-scanner blurred in his vision. The sharp, red of the screen contrasted against its black background, emphasizing its analysis.

"So, what's wrong with her?"

"Nothing, she's fine," River said gently, to reassure Amy or herself he didn't know. She turned to Valerie. "You're fine."

"No, I'm not," said the brunette. Her hazel eyes, half-lidded and glassy, darted to her. Unfocused. Seeing her but not really. "I thought we established this? I'm dying."

"Yes, you are."

"Doctor!" River reprimanded.

The Doctor rounded on her, eyes narrowed. "Yes, you're right, if we lie to her, she'll get all better!" He was scared. For Valerie. For himself. If she was gone now, then what about their time together later on? Time is always changing, twisting and turning it all sorts of way. It moves like a current, unpredictable and unmoving. A being itself. He may be a Time Lord but he was no god. The chance of never seeing her, losing everything they had, everything they've done, everything said in the past, future and everything in between. He couldn't think about it. The thought sent a searing, hot pain that burned and chilled him at the same time. A dreadful thought that numbed his bones.

River quieted, her expression taut. He wondered if she can see the quelled fury, the trepidation that leaks through. "Right." There were no words from River. The silence was enough. He turned away from her, facing Valerie. Despite the twist of pain, her face was solemn. Resigned.

She knew.

"You knew," he realized. _Of course she does._ "You know what's happening to yourself. Something's in your eye. What does that mean? What are they talking about?"

Valerie heaved, her eyes shut tight. "They're—They're—" Her hand rose, albeit weakly and it landed on her closed eyes. "Here." She swayed slightly, leaning back. The Doctor quickly placed his hand behind her back, gently leading her down.

He couldn't see her eyes. But he can imagine her hazel eyes wide, dilated in fear. His hand rose, brushing away the sweat that dripped down her brow. His mind ran, her words echoing in his mind like a mantra. What did she mean? Who is _they_?

"Doctor," Amy called out.

"Busy."

"Doctor!"

His frown deepened. "Shut up!"

River patted Amy's arm gently, leaning close. "Okay, let him think."

The Doctor stared at her for a moment longer. Taking her in. Then, he stood. "What happened? She stared at the Angel, she looked into the eyes of an angel for too long..." His words trailed off in thought.

"Sir! Angel, incoming!" True to the cleric's words, there was an Angel. It was standing amongst the trees, watching.

"And here," another cleric breathed out, terror evident in his voice.

Octavian swore. "Keep visual contact, do not let it move!"

The Doctor began to pace, slapping the sides of his head harshly. "Come on, come on, wakey, wakey! She watched an Angel climb out of the screen. She stared at the Angel and…and..." _Oh._

"Oh my god," Amy swallowed. Understanding swept in, curling alongside with dread. "The image of an Angel is an Angel."

The Doctor rattled on, speaking each thought aloud as he continued to pace. "A living image in a human mind. We stare at them to stop them getting closer, we don't even blink and that's exactly what they want, cos as long as our eyes are open, they can climb inside." He slapped a hand over his mouth, dread coursing through his veins. "There's an Angel in her mind."

Valerie gasped, tears leaking through closed lids. "Three." He can hear her now, yelling at him. _'Doc, I'm fucking dying, can you please hurry the fuck up?_ A small of a smile appeared on his face. It dropped as quickly as it came, remembering the situation at hand.

He shushed her. "You're not going to die. Not on my watch, now shut up, I'm thinking. Now counting, what's that about?" He whipped out the radio. "Bob, why are they making her count?"

"To make her afraid, sir," was Angel Bob's prompt reply.

"Okay, but why? What for?"

"For fun, sir."

A low, deep growl reverberated through his throat. He hurled the radio ways away from him, unable to keep ahold of his anger. He didn't pay any heed to the startled cleric that saw him, nor did he pay heed to the little snap of the branch. He whirled unto Valerie, crouching down.

"Your eyes are shut tight but why? What's the purpose of it?"

"Saving time," she wheezed. "Starving Angel. Like...like...turn off TV..."

The Doctor snapped his fingers. "That's right! But it's not working, when it should work. Why is it not working?" He paused, rubbing his face. "Oh. Oh. It's 'cause you knew what's going to happen. So they decided on another way, but what is it?"

"Doctor, what the hell is happening to her?" Amy demanded.

"Inside her head, in the vision centres of her brain, there's an Angel," he explained. "It's like there's a screen, a virtual screen inside her mind, and the Angel is climbing out of it, and it's coming to shut her off." _But I can't figure out what to do,_ remains unspoken. Admitting aloud was like admitting defeat and the Doctor was far from walking the plank.

"What do _I_ do?" Valerie's voice high-pitched and laced with fear. Her eyes snapped open, revealing dilated pupils.

"What, what about knocking her out?" Amy suggested. "Would it stop them?"

The Doctor shook his head. "No, if we just knock her out, the Angel would take over." Oh. _Oh._

"Then what? Quickly!" River snapped urgently, her gaze tight on med-scanner on Valerie's arm. The Doctor didn't reply and stood up, slapping his cheeks harshly.

Although Valerie had a late reaction to what happened to her, she still knew what was going on. She had shut her eyes earlier than they expected or they hadn't accounted the fact that she would've figured it out. That's why they're trying something else; they're encouraging her to sleep—

"Doctor, she's got seconds—" His eyes swept over the med-scanner. Her heartbeat was slowing down.

"And take over!" The Doctor cut River off, bending down to Valerie's level. He grasped her cheeks gently, feeling them warm under his palms. "Val, close your eyes," he prodded softly.

"Don't tell me what to do," she snapped. She pursued her lips, confused.

Relief flooded him. A good sign. "That's the Angel talking. It's scared. Close your eyes."

She did as she was told. Then her shoulders sagged, heavy exhaustion putting a weight on her shoulders. Quickly, he grabbed her arms, gently pulling her up right. Valerie groaned, mumbling about being tired.

"She's not stabilizing," River stated. "Doctor, what do we do?"

The slow movement of the med-scanner hunted him. "Keep her awake."

"How are we going to do that?" Amy asked.

He pursued his lips in response. A million thoughts buzzed through his mind, each one more suggestive than the last. Pointedly ignoring his flaming cheeks, the Doctor turned to Valerie.

"Val, Val," he nudged her. "Promise me something."

"...What?"

"Keep your eyes closed," he said. "No matter what. Okay?"

Her nose wrinkled. "Okay."

The Doctor licked his lips, his heart thudding. He couldn't help but fear for the worse.

His hands rose to her cheeks. Hovering, never touching. Then, in one swift move, he brought them down upon her.

The sound of flesh hitting flesh echoed harshly. "Ow! What the actual _fuck_ —"

The Doctor grimaced, glancing at River who was caught between amusement, surprise and relief.

Amy guffawed, as though in disbelief. She found herself clutching her sides.

"She's normalizing," River let out a relieved breathe. "Thank god." Her lips were curled in a mid-laugh.

"Who gives a flying fuck I'm normalizing?" Valerie screeched, her own hands rubbing her cheeks. Thankfully, her eyes had stayed close the entire time. She faced away from him, pointing harshly at that direction. "You prick! You fucking slapped me!"

The Doctor sniggered. She was facing the opposite direction. "Language, Val, dear." He couldn't help the giant, ear to ear grin that slowly made its way to face. She was bristling and it was hilariously cute. To see her like that, in such a state, reassured him that things might be okay. _No,_ he shook his head, _things_ will _be okay._

Her head snapped to the right direction. Black hair strands stuck against her flaming cheeks. She reached over, her hand waving in front of his face. She found his nose, startling him. "Fuck off. Don't tell me what to do." She pinched him. Hard.

He yelped lightly. "Ow, that hurt!" He shifted, removing the med-scanner from her arm. It was green now, slowly returning to a normal beat. But she was weak still.

"Don't whine, you slapped me," she retorted. He smiled, opening his mouth to retort.

"Sir? Two more incoming!" A cleric called out. The Doctor could hear the trepidation in his voice. Another echoed his fellow soldier's sentiment.

River grabbed the scanner from the Doctor. Her frown deepened. "Still weak, it's too dangerous to move her."

"What do we do?" Amy asked, crossing her arms. "We can't just leave her here."

Valerie sat up slowly, her hands coming down to fold onto her lap. She straightened herself, purposely posturing herself like some high-society lady. Despite her posture, he can see the small tremble on her fingers, shaking ever so slightly. Her lip was pulled into a thin straight line and crow's feet wrinkled at the edges. The Doctor's gaze softened.

Octavian spoke up. "Doctor, we're too exposed here. We have to move on."

The Doctor straightened. "We're exposed everywhere, and Amy can't move, and anyway, that's not the plan."

Valerie scoffed, albeit weakly. "You have a plan?" She found herself clutching the hands of River and Amy, both women respectively taking place at her side.

Not at all. "I don't know yet, I haven't finished talking," the Doctor said, jabbing a finger at Octavian's direction. "Right! Father, you and your Clerics will stay here, look after Amy and Val. If anything happens to her, I'll hold each of you _personally_ responsible, ten times over." Octavian spluttered at that, his posture stiffening at the emphasis of _personally._ As he should.

The Doctor gestured towards River. "River, you and me, we're going to find the Primary Flight Deck which is..." He trailed off, holding a licked finger in the air. "A quarter mile straight ahead. Amy, you stay here with Val, keep her from doing stupid things. We'll stabilize the wreckage, stop the Angels, and cure Val."

Leaving Valerie and Amy was a gamble, one that he wasn't sure he was willing to take. But this was the best course of action and judging by the composed (albeit anxious, but when is she never anxious) look on her face, it was the right now.

* * *

 **[VALERIE'S POINT OF VIEW]**

* * *

Valerie bristled. "I do not do stupid things, excuse you!" Which is true. To an extent. Beside her, Amy sniggered. Her words remained ignored however as the Doctor and River battered back and forth about his plan.

"Don't lie to yourself, Val, dear," the Doctor said sweetly. "Anyways, moving out!"

"Doctor, I'm coming with you," said Octavian. "My clerics can look after Miss Pond and Miss Sargent. These are my best men, they'd lay down their lives in their protection."

"I don't need you."

"I don't care. Where Dr. Song goes, I go."

Valerie can feel River standing up. Then, suddenly a kiss plants itself atop of Valerie's head. Leaves crunched under boots as River walked away. Valerie shifted, withholding the urge to blink. She leaned close to her left, where Amy situated herself beside her.

"Did you see that?" she whispered furiously. As her and Amy conversed, they didn't hear the conversation between the three of them. Then again, Valerie didn't need to. Not really. She can make a wild guess, and would probably be right. Probably.

Valerie racked through her mind. She knows this scene, this was the scene where the Doctor leaves Amy with River and Octavian, leaving her with the clerics. Whose lives would, and she meant it literarily, disappear. Ceasing to exist. A fate that she didn't wish on anyone. And hopefully a fate that wouldn't change the course of the universe.

"Er, 'Doc?"

Footsteps headed over, heavier than River's and lighter than Octavian's. Leaves crunched under the soles of his feet. "Yes, Val?"

"Take the clerics too," she said. "I'll be fine."

"What? No." She can imagine the Doctor shooting her this incredulously look, judging by the sound of his voice. "I'm not leaving you here by yourself."

A sudden warmth encased her hands. Long and lean fingers wrapping themselves around her folded palms. They clutched her tightly.

Valerie licked her lips, feeling them go dry. "Leave Amy with me then and take them." She winced, feeling the redhead nudge her side.

"Why?" She leaned forward, bumping noses with the Doctor. She nearly pulled away. But she forced herself still, flustered before she spoke, only audible enough for the Doctor to hear.

"I can guarantee her safety, but not their's."

The Doctor let out a heavy sigh, the air from his lungs brushing against her face. Her face warmed. "What about you?" He murmured, startling her. She hadn't expected him to ask about her. "How are you going to protect yourself, let alone Amy?"

"Don't worry, yeah?" She smiled. Valerie prayed it looked reassuring but judging by the Doctor's squeezing grip, it was anything but. "Really. I got it. I can handle this." Big words for someone who just figured out she stumbled into his reality. She wanted to scream, screech into the abyss because she didn't. She didn't know how she can protect herself, let alone Amy. But she didn't dare voice it to the Doctor. She wanted Amy safe, certainly but something was going to happen to Amy. Something important and Valerie didn't dare try to trigger another paradox by sending Amy on her way.

Something grazed her cheek. Valerie started, surprised. It was the Doctor's hand. She froze, unable to move as his hand cupped her cheek. This Doctor was an affectionate man, touchy-feely and grabby in his own way. Much more handsy than the Tenth Doctor was. She was slowly starting to get used to his soft touches but somehow, each time always sent her heart hammering out a samba. And she's never ready for it.

She kept quiet, feeling the Doctor's face lean closely. Her mind raced. All she could of was River, who was a couple of feet away and Amy who sat shoulder to shoulder to her. Then to the Doctor, the man who loved and still love Rose Tyler. The very same man who would slowly fall to the whims and affections of River Song. She wondered if he would kiss her, grant her this last, fangirl wish. Then something soft touched her temple, tentative and soft. _One. Two. Three._ The Doctor pulled his lips away, leaning his forehead against hers.

"Stay alive," he simply said.

"For the time being," she merely said, earning a soft chuckle.

"Any other wise words from the good ol' Soothsayer?" He jested. Though she smiled, the name rang in her head like a mantra. Repeating. _Soothsayer. Soothsayer. What does that even mean?_

Valerie licked her lips. "Keep Octavian away from the Weeping Angels. And River, I know you don't trust her a lot right now, but you need to start to. You won't regret it, I promise."

"I'll take it to heart then," the Doctor pulled away. Then, Valerie could feel his hand just tucking a strand behind her ear. "Come back to me alive, will you?"

"Only if you do." She didn't realize how much meaning there was behind his words.

She felt him stand and Amy spoke up then, something akin to fear was evident in her voice. Valerie reached over, patting Amy's hand gently.

"Doctor..." She trailed off, an unspoken question rang. All three of them understood.

Valerie didn't know, couldn't see what was happening but she could imagine it now. The Doctor had crouched down in front of Amy, tapping her forehead in a brotherly gesture.

"I promise you, Amelia Pond, that I will come back. I will always come back, no matter how long."

"You always say that," Amy pointed out.

The Doctor smiled softly. "For now, you and Val protect each other, alright? I want you both safe and unharmed."

"Okay."

The Doctor stood. "Good luck, Pond. Do not let that girl open her eyes. And keep watching the forest. Stop those Angels advancing. Amy, later!" He tapped Amy's head. "River, going to need your computer." With those words, he left, River and the others trailing behind him.

"Yeah," Valerie can hear the deflated tone in Amy's voice. "Later." She reached over, squeezing her friend's hand.

"We're going to be okay, yeah?" Valerie said, her words were a promise she intended to keep. "I promise you." _You will come back to Rory, safe and sound. I promise._

Amy's hand squeezed hers back. "Thanks, V—Oh, Doctor! Did you forget something?" Valerie perked up at this, feeling another presence shifting in front of them.

Valerie relaxed. She knew who this was. It was not the same Doctor who just left. Same face, same man but a different time. Confusing as that is.

A soft sigh. "Oh, Amy Pond. You need to start trusting me, it's never been more important." Valerie didn't miss the obvious avoidance of Amy's question and neither did the redhead.

"But you don't always tell me the truth," said Amy, something akin to suspicion and unease laced in her tone.

Valerie can imagine the small smile playing on his lips as he said; "If I always told you the truth, I wouldn't need you to trust me."

"...Doctor, the crack in my wall, how can it be here?" Amy finally asked, after a moment of silence.

Leaves and branches broke under his feet as he shifted. "I don't know yet, but I'm working it out. Now, listen. Remember what I told you when you were seven?"

"What did you tell me?"

The Doctor leaned in close, not to Valerie but to Amy. The brunette smiled, albeit timid. It was really awkward. "No, no... That's not the point. You have to remember."

Suddenly, the warmth pulled away from her side but it returned. She can feel the Doctor's presence just vibrating in front of her. Tentatively, as though hesitant, the warmth reached to the flesh of her cheeks. It hovered over them for a moment before they rested gently. Valerie can feel the air leaving the Doctor's breath as he leaned in close, close enough for her to feel his nose graze against hers.

She froze. She couldn't move. The whole thing felt surreal. It felt as though every move she made, every breathe she took, would cut off whatever sort of intimacy the two of them were having right now.

"Wait, Doctor—" Amy spoke, finally registering that something wasn't quite right here. Valerie tensed.

"Valerie Sargent," he whispered softly. His voice was low and husky, the very sound of it sent her heart pounding against her rib cage. Amy was quickly silenced. "Things will get much harder after this, and I know how you must be feeling right now but please know this; you will be alright. I'm certain. And I promise you; I will always come back to you. Always and forever." Hesitant lips grazed the skin of her temple, gentle and sweet and yet it burned the blood in her veins. And then, as quick as it came, it was gone and so was the Doctor.

Valerie could feel Amy jump up, ready to follow the Doctor. "Wait! Doctor! Doctor!"

Her heart sped up. Valerie's hand shot out, grabbing Amy's hand. "Amy, don't! The Angels!"

But it was too late. The sound of crunched leaves and broken twigs sent a stomach-curling fear through her. Amy gasped beside her, her grip on Valerie's arm nearly squeezing the circulation. Valerie didn't need to see to know that the Angels have moved.

* * *

 **EDIT! / June 3rd 2017 - A/N: YO SO THERE WAS A HUUUGE pLOT HOLE AND I COMPLETELY MISSED IT. THANK YOU Wingdings13 for pointing it out to me!**

 **A/N: And that's a wrap for the beginning of Flesh and Stone! I gotta say, I don't like this chapter as much although it is very long. I hope it met your guys' expectations! AND WOOOHOOO THIS STORY JUST REACHED 100 FOLLLOWERS! THAT'S SO EXCITING! Maybe I should do something special? A special point of view maybe? Next chapter, you'll find out I guess!**

REPLIES:

LadyErised: Oh you won't be finding that out for a while but I'm glad you're liking it so far! Thank you! Much love!

ElysiumPhoenix: Thank you so much! I appreciate it!

KittyCatKate: Thank you! You're probably one of my favourite reviewers!


	9. Flesh and Stone: Memory Lane

**FOR THE TIME BEING**

* * *

"You don't understand — there are things worth dying for!"

― **J.K. Rowling** , _Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix_

* * *

 **[THIRD PERSON POINT OF VIEW]**

* * *

Valerie can feel Amy's pulse sped up beneath her hand. She wondered if Amy could feel the sweat just building up on her palms. She swallowed heavily, pointedly ignoring the constant strikes of unease.

"Amy, what's happening?"

Amy let out a shuddering breath, her eyes darting around the Angels. Oddly enough, they've only moved a little. Not a lot that would concern them but each broken twig and crushed leaf, it only made the fear more prominent than ever.

"They're closer now," she said, spotting an Angel in mid-position. Its stone hands gripped the wires, clearly pulling them. Her eyes flickered to the rest and the lights blinked insistently. "Oh, god. They're ripping the treeborgs apart."

Valerie's heart stuttered. "They're taking out the lights." _No. No. No. No._

The Weeping Angels advanced, taking advantage of the flickering lights and the lack of sight in their direction. Amy stood up, bringing Valerie up with her. The redhead forcibly steeled herself as her eyes darted around her.

"They're getting closer, V," said Amy, urgency in her voice. "What do we do?"

Valerie didn't answer. Her whole body trembled heavily, her mind raking through every thought, every solution. "I'm opening my eyes."

"No!" Amy started, her free hand slapping over Valerie's face. "Don't you dare! I'll just keep watching them, figure something out!"

Valerie hissed. "You don't have the eyes to watch all of them, Ames!" Her hand shot up to pry away Amy's hands but the redhead didn't budge. "Amelia. Please. Let me open my eyes."

Amy spluttered. "But you'll―" She stopped and her eyes zoomed in on a bright, bright light. She watched, gaping as it spread. "What the―?"

"What's going on?"

"There's light, but how?" Amy bit her lip, fearing for the worst. "It can't be the ship, is it?"

Valerie stiffened. She shook her head, feeling her head pound. "No, it couldn't be." Valerie knew it wasn't the ship anyway, it was never Byzantium.

Amy looked around, bewildered to find that there were no Angels in sight. "V, the Angels have gone. Where'd they go?"

"What?"

Truth to Amy's words, the Weeping Angels had indeed left them. To where? She didn't know. Her eyes moved over to the bright light. "Is that..." Amy stood, finding herself drawn towards the light. She didn't know for certain but something in her spoke volumes, yelling at her that she knew exactly what that light came from.

She wasn't the only one. "Amy, no, don't." Valerie tightened her hold on Amy's wrist. "Do not go near it, you hear me? Don't."

"But, but, it's the crack. It's the crack on _my_ wall."

 _And mine,_ Valerie thought solemnly but didn't openly say anything. Instead, she shook her head.

"Please, Amy," Valerie pleaded. "Listen to me. Don't go near it."

"It's following me! How can it be following me?"

Valerie scowled, the panic of the situation getting to her. "Amy!" She pinched her. "Listen to me, it's not fucking following you. By gods, it isn't! That crack over there? It's from something else, something _big_. Something so big that it _tore_ cracks through space and time. They're _everywhere._ "

Amy stilled, clearly distressed. "But why? What could've possibly made it? What's it going to do?"

Hell, the thought of something _that_ big terrified her. "Time is being undone. By what? I don't know. All I know is that if that light touches you, even if it grazed your clothes or anything, you're gone. And I don't just mean not dead, I literarily mean you _cease_ to exist. That's why I had the Doctor bring the clerics because they would've disappeared, their whole lives would've been non-existent."

Amy swallowed heavily. "Is that why the Angels are gone?"

Valerie nodded. "Yeah, they're running away. That's why we gotta stay away from it too, Ames. We gotta go."

Valerie can tell that Amy was terrified. Her fear was vibrating off of her in waves and she knew that Amy can tell how scared she was too. She squeezed her hand, a silent reassurance. "Now, come on," she urged. "Let's go."

"But what about the crack?" asked Amy, her eyes darting over to the nearing light.

"Don't worry, the Doctor will figure something out."

Something crackled, garnering their attention. Amy glanced down.

"What was that?"

"It's a communicator, nearly forgot about it," replied Amy, waving it front of Valerie's face, knowing full well that the brunette wouldn't be able to see anyway. She smirked. "One of the clerics handed it to me while you and the Doctor were having one of your cute little moments."

Valerie bristled, brows shooting up at her words. "Excuse me? What's that supposed to mean?"

"Hello? Amy, Val? Are you both there?" It was the Doctor.

Amy relaxed slightly, relieved to hear the Doctor's voice. "Doctor?"

"Amy, Val, I'm sorry. I should never have left you there."

Amy swallowed, unable to reply though her eyes strayed to Valerie who did her best to keep herself composed. "What do we do?"

"You come to us. Primary Flight Deck, other end of the forest."

"I don't even know where that is!"

"Turn on the spot."

Amy shot the radio a bewildered look. She glanced over at Valerie, mouthing; _What?_ But the brunette simply smiled anxious, unable to see her expression.

"Just listen to him," said Valerie, shrugging helplessly.

"When the communicator sounds like my screwdriver, you're facing the right way. Follow the sound."

Amy huffed, doing as told as they both swivelled around. They stopped at once, hearing the whirring of the Doctor's screwdriver from the communicator.

"You both have to start moving _now_ ," the Doctor urged. "There's time energy spilling out of that crack and you have to stay ahead of it."

"What about the Angels?" Amy inquired, surveying the area anxiously. "They're everywhere."

"I'm sorry, I really am, but the Angels can only kill you."

Amy tugged Valerie along, leading the way. "What does the Time Energy do?" She already knew the answer but she couldn't bring herself to believe it.

"Just keep moving!"

Amy shook, looking at her friend with frightened realization. She didn't want to believe that Valerie's previous words were true. The prospect of never being alive at all was terrifying. "Tell me."

A sigh. "If the Time Energy catches up with you, you'll never have been _born_. It will erase _every_ moment of your existence. You will never have lived at all." Each word that reached Amy's ears chilled her bones. She couldn't help the numbed feeling that coursed through her veins. "Now, Amy, don't let her open her eyes and keep her awake! And keep moving!"

"Can I talk to him?" Silently, the redhead handed Valerie the radio. "'Doc, did anything happen? With the clerics and Father Octavian?"

Silence. Valerie sighed heavily, feeling her own shoulders deflate. She didn't need to be there to know that her attempt at saving them were a failure. When there was no other sound, sans for the Doctor's breathing, Valerie's frown deepened. The silence spoke volumes, subtle and intangible as it is. The Doctor was blaming himself.

"Hey now," she brought the radio close to her face, bringing her voice to a mere whisper. "It's not your fault. It's never your fault. Things happen, alright? And don't worry so much, 'Doc. Ames and I are okay, just as I promised, and we will continue to be. That counts for you too, River, don't you two worry your pretty little heads over it."

"...thank you," the Doctor said softly and Valerie smiled, handing over the radio communicator over to Amy.

Silently, the both of them trudged on, leaving themselves in their own thoughts. Occasionally, Valerie would stumble but Amy was quick on grabbing her.

The radio crackled to life as the Doctor spoke. "Amy, listen to me. For Val's sake and mine, you _have_ to make sure that Val can walk like she can see."

Amy paused, frowning. "Well, what do you mean?"

The Doctor's sigh relayed through the radio. "Just... keep moving."

Amy squeezed Valerie's hand, biting her lip hard as they continued on. She stilled, pulling Valerie to a stop as well, eyes darting around her. Her heart shuddered, beating inconsistently. "Oh, god."

Valerie tensed. "What? Amy, what's wrong?"

"The Angels..." Amy breathed.

Valerie swore lowly under her breath, straightening herself. "Oh, _fuck._ Okay, uh, calm down."

"Calm down?!" Amy hissed, clearly distressed. "How can I when we're _surrounded_!"

"Amy, listen to me. This is going to be hard but I know..." The Doctor trailed off. "…you can do it. The Angels are scared and running and right now they're not that interested in you or Val. They'll assume you two can see them and their instincts will kick in. All you've got to do is lead Val walk like you both can see."

Amy nodded, shaking. "Okay. Okay."

"And Val?"

"What?"

"Don't open your eyes."

Valerie nodded. "Roger that, 'Doc." She let go of Amy's hand, opting to hook their arms together. When they didn't move, Valerie pulled Amy close. "Look, Ames, it's going to be alright." Valerie can feel Amy trembling beside her.

"You're not moving," the Doctor said. "You _have_ to do this, Amy. Now! You have to do this!" Both of them can hear banging through the communicator.

Valerie scowled, her hand waving for the communicator. Amy silently handed it to her. "Stop being a dick and don't yell at her, it's freaking her out and frankly, me too."

"As you should—"

"Shut up," she hissed, aggravated with the Doctor. "Now, Amy, you can do this. You're Amelia Pond, you're capable of anything and everything but the Doctor doesn't know that yet. So you gotta prove it to him, yeah? Come on."

Amy squeezed her hand, a silent thanks. Pointedly making sure her eyes are kept ahead, she tugged Valerie along. The two of them slowly weaved through the statues, reluctant, hesitant in their movements. "A little to the left...er, now diagonally...Now move forward, wait, wait, there's a—"

"Ah!" Valerie gasped, stumbling forward. She cursed loudly, realizing that she brought Amy down with her. "Fuck. Fuck. _Fuck_ , Ames, I dropped the communicator." She let her hands feel about in the dirt. Nothing. She swore even louder, damning every single Angel in her vicinity. Shakily, she stood up, her legs wobbling as she held her arms out for Amy.

"Amy? Amy?" Silence greeted her like an unwelcome guest. "Oh my god, oh my fucking god, Amy I really hope you're watching the Angels." All Valerie could hear was the sound of stone moving, the sound grating on her ears. She can something wet gathering in her eyes, her lips wobbling.

Valerie whimpered. "Amy?" _Oh god, oh god._

She whirled around, her head snapping left and right. Panic rose, shuddering through her very being as she took a step back, only find herself engulfed in someone's arms. Valerie tensed, unmoving.

"Don't open your eyes, darling," River's voice echoed close to her ears. Valerie sagged in relief, her knees giving out. "I got you, I got you."

"Jesus-fucking-Christ," Valerie breathed, letting River lead her to sit down.

"You're good, you're good," River whispered assuringly. Her voice sent calm waves through her. "Thank you, Valerie, darling. You were fantastic."

Valerie sniffled, rubbing her nose. River smiled softly, engulfing Valerie in a bear-tight hug. The younger woman didn't mind and instead relished the hug, clinging to River. "No, no, thank _you_. You saved my life."

River pecked her temple gently. "When have I never?"

Valerie laughed, out of anxiety and relief. "God, I could fucking kiss you." She paused, her own words sinking in as she realized what she just said. Valerie blushed. "Oh my god, did I seriously just say that? I, uh, oh, fuck—"

River chuckled, pulling away to tap her nose. "Ah well, maybe when you're older."

 _What?_ Before Valerie could inquire anymore; an alarm blared off, startling them.

"What was that?"

The Doctor tensed. "The Angels are draining the last of the ship's power, which means... the shield's going to release!"

They all watched the shield to the forest opening slowly. And the sight of the other side sent a stake of fear through their hearts. Angels, gathered in large, large, numbers surrounded the other side. The number of them was booming in abundance. An army; ready to devour and tear them apart.

 _And chuck the Doctor to the time stream._ Valerie bit her lip, forcibly calming her beating heart. _Which will not happen. Not if the Doctor has anything to say about it._

The man in question stood forward. His face was cooled into an indifferent calm, nonchalant and unassuming. "Angel Bob, I presume."

An Angel, presumably the Angel who took Bob's voice, spoke. "The Time Field is coming. It will destroy our reality."

"Yeah, and look at you, all running away." The Doctor titled his head. "What can I do for you?"

"There is a rupture in time. The Angels calculate that if you or Miss Sargent throw yourselves into it, it will close and they will be saved."

The Doctor bobbed his head along. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Could do, could do that. But why?"

"Your friends would also be saved."

The Doctor grimaced. "Well, there is that."

River bounded over to the Doctor. "I've travelled in time. I'm a complicated spacetime event, too. Throw me in."

Valerie bristled. "Like hell!" River didn't pay her any heed.

"Oh, be serious!" the Doctor scoffed, waving the idea off instantly. "Compared to me, these Angels are more complicated than you and it would take every one of them to amount to either of us, so get a grip." He didn't dare think about Valerie. The thought of throwing her in like a sacrificial lamb was a terrible one.

"Doctor, I can't let you do this!" River protested.

"No, seriously, get a grip."

"You're not going to die here," River said vehemently, as though the prospect was too much for her to bare. "Either of you!"

Valerie leaned over close to Amy who had moved over to her left. "Hold on to something tight and don't let go, yeah?"

Amy blinked. "What?"

"Just do it," Valerie huffed, addressing River now. "River, _darling_ , get a grip will you?"

River paused, as though startled by being called that. An unreadable expression marred her face before realization glinted in her eyes. "Oh, _you_! I hate you both!" The woman headed over to Valerie and Amy, leading Valerie to hold on to something whilst making sure that Amy had something to hold on to.

The Doctor grinned. "No, you don't!"

"Sir, Miss," Angel Bob piped up. "The Angels need you to sacrifice yourself now."

The Doctor merely smirked. "Thing is, Bob, the Angels are draining all the power from this ship, every last bit of it. And you know what? I think they've forgotten where they're standing. I think they've forgotten the _gravity_ of the situation. Or to put it another way, Angels..." An alarm went on, blaring in their ears.

"Night, night."

The Doctor turned casually, unabashed by the slow loss of gravity. The whole deck flipped to its side, the gravity forcing itself to grab unto anything, dragging it along with it. The Doctor, Amy, River and Valerie hung onto the railings for their dear lives, clenching them tight. Unfortunately, the Angels were not quite as bounded, their whole beings sucked into the crack like a vacuum. A burst of light dimmed the room before dying down, the crack sucking itself to a close. A sound whirred and the gravity restored itself, plummeting the quartet to the ground.

"Oh!" Valerie groaned, rubbing her eyes hard. Tentatively, she peeled them open, blinking fast. "Ah, that was a real fucking pain."

"Valerie! Keep your eyes closed!" Amy hissed at her, alarmed, shuffling over to force her eyes close.

"Bah, don't worry about it!" Valerie waved her off, finding herself chortling in her relief. "The Angel in my head don't exist no more, my man."

Amy shook her head in disbelief before she threw herself at Valerie, wrapping her arms tight around her. "Oh, thank god, you're okay."

Valerie squeaked, startled. "Oh, oh, uh, yeah, me too." A hand came flying down upon her head, courtesy of Amy. "Ow! What was that for?"

"Don't do that ever again! Like ever!" Amy pulled away, reprimanding. She hated how easily scared Valerie made her. It terrified her to see Valerie in a state and it didn't help that she, too, was in danger at the time too. "Stupid!"

Valerie smiled softly. "No promises but I'll try, yeah?"

Amy merely sighed, rubbing her eyes tiredly as she muttered. Something along the lines about _troublesome_ and _annoying_. Valerie blanched, about to protest when another pair of arms wrapped itself around her. Her feet were lifted off the ground, startling her as she clung to whatever was holding her. The Doctor brought her down, burying himself onto her hair.

"You're okay."

Valerie felt her cheeks heat up in embarrassment, allowing herself to wrap her own arms around. "And you, yeah."

They didn't say much else, simply resorting to staring at each other's eyes. There was something in the way the Doctor looked at her, like he was searching for something.

Amy leaned over close to River, her one hand covering her mouth. "Look at them. All cute and happy."

River grinned. "Just the way I like them," she jested, earning a laugh from Amy, startling the two out of their moment.

"Awe," Amy cooed, lips puckered. "Did we interrupt your little moment?"

Valerie blushed, now pointedly aware of the Doctor's arms around her and the fact that River was only a couple of feet away. "Fuck off, Pond."

The Doctor pulled away, pinching her nose. "Language."

"Oh, shit, sorry."

* * *

 **[VALERIE'S POINT OF VIEW]**

* * *

Valerie sat next to Amy, sharing a blanket with her. The Doctor stood next to them, a cleric just a few ways behind. They had managed to climb back up out of _Byzantium_ , returning to the beaches of the Alfava Metraxis. There, the rest of Octavian's bishops had waited for them. Valerie had willingly gone up to them and told them about their compatriots, speaking of their bravery and action and how incredibly sorry that she and the rest couldn't save them.

Valerie let out a heavy sigh, leaning her head back. All she could of was the fact that her actions, her little nudge into a different direction, didn't change much. The only thing that really changed was the fact that the clerics who would've been with her and Amy were at least remembered, that their whole lives still existed. It had soothed her to know that it was a much better fate than never existing at all.

Amy moaned. "Ah, bruised everywhere."

"Me too."

Valerie scoffed. "Excuse me, neither of you didn't have to climb out on a _dress_."

"Not our fault, excuse you," retorted Amy, poking at the skirt. "Why are you even wearing that anyway?"

"I told you, my last trip was in Nevada in the eighteen hundreds!"

Amy smirked, purposely not believing her. "As if. You probably dressed up for―" _The Doctor_. Amy didn't need to finish that sentence for Valerie to understand where she was leading this.

Valerie spluttered. Like hell, was she going to let Amy finish that sentence. Honestly, the nerve of that girl! "Shush, you!"

Amy threw her head back and laughed, earning an amused smile at the Doctor.

"Well, I certainly didn't mind the view if it helps," he teased, his smile growing at the sight of her burning face.

Valerie wasn't certain but she was pretty sure that her head just exploded. "Wait, wha―I―uh―!"

The Doctor merely grinned, tapping her nose. Valerie flushed heavily, burying her face deep into her hands in embarrassment.

"Hey..." Amy spoke up, her own mood dimming. "If the Angels don't exist anymore, then why do I remember it all?"

"You're a time traveller now, Amy," the Doctor explained. "Changes the way you see the universe forever. Good, isn't it?"

"And the crack. Is that gone too?" Amy glanced between the two.

Valerie nodded, her gaze straying to find River. "Well, yeah, for the time being, at least."

"But the explosion that caused it is still happening... somewhere out there, somewhere in time," the Doctor mused, solemn.

Valerie hummed, getting up and strolled over towards River, the Doctor at her heels. Valerie held out at hand, wiggling her fingers at River in greeting.

River smirked slyly at the sight of her. "You, me, the Doctor...handcuffs." She held out her hands, revealing them to encased in handcuffs. "Must it always end this way?"

Valerie stuttered, flushing terribly. "I―I―uh―" _Oh my god._ Valerie hadn't realized how bad sexual innuendos got to her until this very moment.

The older woman merely grinned. "How adorable," she cooed.

The Doctor watched them silently before he spoke up. "What now?" He gestured towards her handcuffs.

"The prison ship's in orbit. They'll beam me up any second. I might have done enough to earn a pardon this time," she paused, shrugging. "We'll see." Despite her own nonchalant composure, there was a hint of sadness at the edges of her smile. As though she didn't want for them to go.

"Octavian said you killed. Two people to be exact."

Valerie paused, her brows shooting up, bewildered. _Two people? Wasn't it just the Doctor? Who the hell_ ―?

River's smile dimmed as she ducked her head slightly, as though ashamed. "Yes. I did. Good people. The very best. Both of whom meant the universe to me."

"Who?" the Doctor coaxed out, curious.

River merely smiled, her lips curling like a hidden secret waiting to be revealed. "It's a long story, Doctor, can't be told. It has to be lived. No sneak previews. Well," she drawled out, watching his expression, amused. "Except for this one: you'll see me again quite soon, when the _Pandorica_ opens." She caught Valerie's gaze and her smile turned forlorn. "No clue when it'll be for you but I look much forward to seeing you again, darling."

Valerie smiled shyly, the tug of her lips meaningful. "A pleasure to meet you, _darling_." River beamed, her eyes softening.

The Doctor laughed, incredulous. "The _Pandorica_ , ha!" He leaned close, whispering in River's ear. "That's a fairy tale."

River's own laugh sounded sweet, bright and lively like a burning star. "Oh, Doctor, aren't we all?" She teased lightly, bopping Valerie's nose. "I'll see both of you there."

Valerie balked, her hand shooting up to clutch her nose. Her face soured terribly, thinking of the many times the Doctor, River, or anyone really tapped her nose. She was pointedly aware how big it was. She didn't need the constant reminder.

"I look forward to it." The Doctor nodded.

"I remember it well," she said slyly, garnering chuckles from the two.

Amy walked over to them, placing herself at Valerie's side. "Bye, River." A small, albeit a bit sad smile was on her face.

River flashed Amy a grin of her own. There was a fondness in her eyes as she looked at Amy that made Valerie's heart ache. "See you, Amy." Her handcuffs beeped, flashing red. River glanced down, somewhat disappointed. "Oh! I think that's my ride."

"Can I trust you, River Song?" He asked, glancing up to meet the woman's eyes.

"If you like," she amended lightly. "but where's the fun in that?" With a mere laugh, she disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

Valerie hummed, stretching her arms out as she headed towards the TARDIS. Exhaustion seeped through her bones. The adrenaline of the adventure had worn off, drying away like water in a desert heat. She can heard Amy and the Doctor stepping in beside her, the three of them finding themselves submerged in a comforting silence. Even as they gone inside the TARDIS, the silence continued until Valerie broke it, yawning.

The Doctor glanced down at her, his arm wrapped around her shoulders tight. "How are you feeling?"

"Good, good," she said, nodding off. She felt exhausted. The hype of her adventures with him are finally getting to her. "I think I need a nap though…"

The Doctor smiled softly at her. "I'll lead you to your room."

She looked at him, astonished. "Woah, wait, what? I have a room?"

Amy came around on Valerie's other side, nodding. "Obviously, where else do you sleep, dummy?"

The brunette blushed. She opened her mouth to retort but she didn't have any words. She clamped it shut and simply resorted to nudging Amy.

The redhead merely laughed and shoved her and the Doctor forward. "Go on, then, off to bed, you!"

"Yes, ma'am."

* * *

Valerie stepped in, eyes widening. The smell of dried paint and wood hit her hard. The walks were freckled with colours of creamy blue. The hardwood floors hard and solid against the soles of her feet, a familiar feeling. It was her room. Not at the apartment in BC but the one at home. New Brunswick. The place she was raised. She headed over to one of the drawers and checked its sides, and lo and behold, her mock painting of _Vincent Van Gogh_ 's **The Starry Night**. A painting she did when she was merely 14 years old, though this version was much prettier and cleaner than she remembered. Adapted. Improved. Better. She gaped.

"This looks…" She didn't finish her words. Instead, she checked all the other furniture too. Every single one of them had paintings of sorts, placed in the same exact spot as she remembered. The room was nearly a replica. The only things missing was the window sill, where she often star-gazed and watched stars twinkle in the darkness of the sky and the various certificates and ribbons she's earned throughout the years. Instead, there was a reading nook, mixing in with a couple of bookshelves that were against the same wall. And one another, where all her rewards and proofs of her achievements, remained blank as though there was nothing to fill it. Nostalgia hit her, reminiscences of her laughter and her grandmother's soft giggles ringing in her ears.

 _Home_.

This room was from Home.

Tentatively, she headed over to her bed. It had the same, starry night sheets as she remembered, littered with quilted pillows her grandmother made. Her eyes glistened, gliding around the room. In the corner, there was a small stool and sitting neatly on it was a knitted, pale blue blanket. It looked exactly like the one Nanabelle gave her when she was merely a baby.

"Do you like it?" Valerie jumped, having forgotten the Doctor was at the door. She turned to him.

He looked shy but he had this small of a smile, looking at her with expectancy. He caught her eyes, noting her wet cheeks and wobbling lips.

Instantly, he glided over to her, wrapping his arms around her. She couldn't help herself when she sagged into his arms, burying her face into his tweed jacket.

There was a moment of silence before the Doctor spoke up. "The future you made this room. When I asked if you wanted a bedroom, you had this smile. A nostalgic, knowing smile. It always got to me. I let you pick a room, and you and the TARDIS went to work. You wouldn't let me see it for days on end. Even after you finished. The first time I saw it, you were there. Smiling. Beaming. But there were tears on your face. Just like now." He pulled away, taking the time to brush the tears away. He stared at her, his gaze held a certain softness to it. One she couldn't begin to understand.

She didn't reply. And he continued, as though he knew. "I asked why you looked so sad but you smiled, glowing with that irritating artron energy and popped away before you could even reply." He chuckled, though the noise sounded more resigned than anything. As if the thought depressed him.

Valerie snorted. Of course the time-jumping had to ruin the moment. Sounds like it was going to be a common thing. She felt a bit saddened by that.

"This room…" Valerie whispered, taking a step back so she could look around again. Still, she couldn't believe her eyes. "I had a room exactly like this, back at home in New Brunswick."

She inhaled. "I was raised in that very same room, all my memories and everything that mattered to me happened in that room. My paintings, the star-gazing, the stories Nanabelle used to tell me… This room was everything to me. I was devastated when I realized that I had to go to BC for university. I couldn't visit much, _hell_ ," She laughed. "I couldn't visit at all. Money was scarce and travel was expensive. I haven't seen this room for five _years_." Her voice broke at the end. This room was a daunting reminder that she had been incapable of visiting her grandmother during those five years. Or perhaps, as some of her grandmother's friends had suggested, she had not cared enough to visit anyway.

A haunting thought.

She turned away from the paintings (one was of an orchid when she was six, another was one of the night sky, its stars painted white and another was of her grandmother's hand, wrinkly yet smooth in its detail, pale and her nails stood out with its blue nail polish). Her gaze unwillingly wandered to the Doctor's; he was looking at her with understanding, his eyes kind. He didn't say a word and she was grateful for it.

This tender-hearted man has been with her for god knows how long and still, he stayed. Even in the flesh, even outside the television, the Doctor brought her this tender comfort that calmed the seas of her emotions.

"Thank you," she whispered, her voice hoarse and barely audible enough for him to hear. "For everything."

He smiled, a pretty little curl of the lips. "It is my pleasure." Then, he reached over, his hand landing atop her head gently. He ruffled her hair. "Get some rest, will you? Quite a few adventures you've had. Doctor's orders."

Valerie returned it shyly, inclining her head in silent thanks. "'Doc's orders, gotcha."

Ruffling her hair once more, he left her in her room, muttering something about Amy and where to go to next. Valerie watched him leave, the light feeling in her heart disappearing. She headed over to close the door, locking it shut.

When the Doctor left the room, it suddenly felt as though reality crashed in. She slid down, her back against the door as she curled into a ball. Her eyelids grew heavy, weighing down upon her. Fatigue hit her like a swing of a bat, sudden and too quick for her to combat. Earlier's realization swooped in, circling around her like a whirlpool and she was at the center, slowly being sucked in.

Here she was, a whole _universe_ away from home. And to think, a mere three weeks ago, she had been at home, just finished with shift at _White Garden_. Right now she would've been curled on her couch right now, listening to the rain pound lightly against the glass of her window with her _Astrophysics for Physicists_ by **Arnab Rai Choudhuri** on her lap. Instead here she was, in the TARDIS, in a room that was a daunting replica of the one she was raised in.

Her mind wandered. She was supposed to get her pay check a week ago. Her paper on Temporal Domains would be due two weeks from now if she counted right. Her birthday had passed, once a cherished day, forgotten. Valerie thought of her friends. She had very few, a couple in each class she had. Some acquittances at work. Neither of them were worth mentioning. Except for one.

Valerie hadn't realized she fell asleep. She hadn't noticed that she slept at all until a pair of familiar shoes came into her view. They were a pair of black converse, its laces tied loosely, one of them nearly un-tied. Her heart stuttered. She knew exactly whose shoes were those.

 _Thomas._

The way his name left her mouth was like a greeting, more for a ghost long gone than an old friend. She humoured herself, letting her gaze wander over his features. He was tall and lanky, more of a stick than a well-proportioned man. She took in his fleece, burgundy red hoodie. It was covered in light blonde dog fur and lint, just as she remembered. Blonde, floppy hair swept over his eye. His face took ahold of its usual bored expression, but his blue gaze were alight with something she couldn't describe. Her vision blurred, something wet layering over the dried tears over her cheeks.

So many things she prioritized, the very things that had shaped her life for the past five years; forgotten.

* * *

 **A/N: AnD that'S A WRAP / I really hope you guys like it! There's some hints and foreshadow in this story and a little background for our dear, darling Valerie! I mean, wh o th E hE ll is thomas? who KNOWs.** **For the 100 Followers Special, I will be doing a "Future" preview of the future chapters, on next week's chapter!** **Anyways, thank you all so much for the follows and favourites, its very much appreciated!**

smhshelby: I'm very glad you do! I hope it'll continue to reach your expectations!

KittyCatKate: aWeh, you're so sweet! I can't wait to share this story with you!

Arashi - IV of VI: OHH I KNOW HAAHAH, and thank you so much for reading love! 3

ElysiumPhoenix: Aweh, thank you! I try but I gotta pit the idea over to **bored411** and likely it's been done before in many other stories! bored411's story, **Alexander, the Changer and Seer of Time** is fantastic! You probably read it but if you haven't give it a read anyway! And I knwow, me too! It's a little something I do to my friends (who swear a lot) so! Thank you so much!


	10. Tooth & Claw: Death's Call

**For the Time Being**

* * *

"I feel the weight of the stars inside my throat."

— **Bill Kacir** (via _billkacir_ )

* * *

The Torchwood Estate was large and vast, grand and magnificent in a manner of appearance. In the centre of it, the Torchwood House loomed over her. Its appearance fit in nicely to the century it belonged to, although the large telescope on the top of it was an odd sight to see. The brief smell of petrichor swept through her nostrils, lingering in the air as grey clouds slowly breezed by. The wind blew causing her to wrap herself tighter in her surplus jacket.

 _Tooth & Claw; something to do with Queen Victoria and wolves. _Valerie frowned, glancing around inconspicuously. There was no one around, as far as she could see. She stepped forward, not really sure how she was going to do this and headed straight for the entrance.

"Halt!" A voice cut in, startling her. She stopped. Valerie's gaze snapped forward, drawing in on a couple of men dressed in a butler's uniform. One of them had his revolver aimed at her figure, demanding an explanation. It made her unease, to see a gun pointed at her. Again. "Who are you? Identify yourself!"

"Uh..." _Oh, shit. I did not think this far,_ she swore inwardly, patting down her pockets. She dug through them and grabbed something. Valerie's eyes widened. It was the physic paper, one the Doctor always uses. Why she had it was a mystery to her. Perhaps the TARDIS had put it on her coat before she put it on. She held it out for the butlers to see, praying that it would work. "Viscountess Valerie Sutherland. I am her Majesty's..." _Quick, quick! Think of something!_

They rose an eyebrow, watching her suspiciously as she continued, "acting Mistress of the Robes for Queen Victoria. I was sent ahead to send her word of her arrival and arrange a living space for her Majesty." _I hope that she isn't here yet or that I'm in the right day or else, this would end terribly for me._

One of the butlers stepped forward, snatching her ID out of her hand and eyed it dubiously. Valerie shifted, fighting the urge to fidget a the butlers shared looks amongst each other. Then, after a couple of moments, the butler nodded and handed it back to her, finding nothing out of the ordinary.

Valerie inwardly sighed in relief, thanking the heavens that they hadn't found it odd that she has an ID. Considering the century, do they even have IDs? Or is it because of the physic paper's low-level perception that made it 'normal'? Although, he was still skeptical of her choice in clothing, nothing like the sort that women of her 'status' would be wearing in this date and time. Valerie shrugged it off and said that "traveling is much easier in trousers" and that "she cannot wait to change into her regular clothing once it arrives". It didn't help that she hadn't appeared to them in a carriage or anything of the sort.

Valerie cursed inwardly. She really hadn't thought this through and she prays that they would think nothing of it. She adjusted her glasses awkwardly, feeling the thin-rimmed glasses sliding down her nose.

"Right this way then, Lady Sutherland..." He gestured ahead, ready to lead her inside.

By the pull of God's strings, things seem to pull into her favor. As reassuring as that is, Valerie doesn't know for certain if she really had them fooled or that they were just simply humoring her. She bit her lip, following him as she feared for the worst.

Valerie tensed, feeling a heavy presence weighing behind her. She whirled around, just in time to catch sight of a man striking his hand down swiftly to her neck. Her eyes widened, alarmed. Instantly, the world around her darkened, her heart pumping hard before she fell. Passed out.

* * *

When she woke up, she woke up to chains clinking, the feeling of metal tied around my wrists and the stone wall cold against my back. Valerie groaned, cringing at the aching point on her neck. Reluctantly, a hand reached over to touch her shoulder. She stiffened and her eyes snapped open, wild and wide compared to the half-lidded expression. They adjusted to the darkness accordingly. She narrowed in on a young woman, dressed in a maid's uniform and her expression was one of concern. Valerie relaxed.

"Are you alright, miss?" The maid asked, checking over her silently.

 _Ugh, no._ Valerie nodded, leaning forward. She grimaced, trying her best to ignore the little stings and aches. "Where are we?" She looked around, not really asking for an answer. Obviously, she was in the cellar where the monks chained up the hostages and held the Werewolf in a cage. That was as far as she could remember.

Speaking of... Her eyes trailed over to the cage, where the boy possessed sat quietly. It was unnerving how still he was, the only motions he made were the mere, shaky breathes that released every so often.

"In the cellar, miss," said the maid beside her. She followed Valerie's gaze to the boy. "We mustn't scream or shout, they say that he would slaughter us at the mere noise."

Valerie shivered. "Ah." She lifted her gaze to the ceiling. There was little light to go around and it was miracle that she could see, even if it was a little bit. She must've been unconscious for a long time.

"May I ask, miss, on who you are?" asked another woman. Unlike the rest of girls in the cellar, she was dressed like an aristocrat. It didn't take Valerie long to figure out who she was. The Lady of the Manor.

She opened her mouth, about to answer when the basement doors threw open, startling all of them. Shortly after, they can see the butlers (Monks, Valerie corrected silently) dragging in two people. One of them thrashed heavily against one of them while the other was merely shaking in fear. Valerie's eyes narrowed in recognition, catching sight of the thrashing figure and its blonde hair that reflected off the moon's light.

 _Rose._

The monks were unfazed by the young girl's thrashing and merely chained the two up to the rest of them, placing Rose next to Valerie (though the blonde hasn't seem to realize yet; Valerie wondered if they've met) and the other girl next to Rose.

The blonde glared heavily at the backs of the monks as they left them, then her gaze catch sight of the boy possessed. She stared, bewildered and creeped out, as far as Valerie can tell.

The Lady, the one who had asked for Valerie's identity, said to Rose sharply. "Do not make a sound. They said if we scream or shout, then he will slaughter us." Valerie can hear the hint of terror in the tremor of her voice.

"But..." Rose was skeptical, considering the fact that the boy (weak-looking and fragile as he seemed) was caged up. "He's in a cage, he's a prisoner. He's the same as us."

"He's _nothing_ like us," said the Lady fervently, her voice thick with fear. "That creature is not mortal."

The boy possessed rose his head, the move was slow in motion and it added to its supposed effect. It struck fear in their hearts. He opened his eyes tentatively, revealing the horrors and dreams deferred. They were completely and utterly black, missing even the whites of the eyes and the pupils and irises and everything that made eyes. Around her, the maids and the Lady whimpered at the sight and Rose was silent but her own terror was evident in the little tremors of her hand. Somehow, her hand had found Valerie's and she was clutching it tightly.

Valerie swallowed thickly, the bile in her throat heavy. Fear was evident in her face, gaunt and pale as it was. She wasn't one for the supernatural but she was never quite bothered by it. At least, when it was told in tales and shows and movies. But this was different, she supposed, because there was a chance she might die. And how terrifying is that thought?

She would say that she was quite out of her element but then again, was she ever in it the first place?

Rose stood, cautiously. It didn't take a genius to know what she was going to do. Valerie's hand shot up and grasped Rose's wrist tightly.

"Let's not," she said and the blonde's gaze snapped to her. Recognition danced in Rose's green eyes.

"Valley!" Rose shouted-whisper, suddenly aware of the Lady's previous words. She bent down, wrapping her arms around Valerie tightly.

Valerie's lips curled into a wry smile. "Hello, Rose," she said, abashed by her greeting and miffed at the nickname. _Valley? That's new._

The blonde pulled away, oblivious to the brunette's slight discomfort. "How'd you get here?"

"Well..." Valerie trailed off, her voice lowering to a whisper to make sure the others didn't hear. "Popped in front of the estate, I, uh, pretended to be the Queen's Mistress of Robes and told the butlers, er, monks I mean, that I was supposed to send word ahead of the Queen's arrival and that I had to arrange a living space for her for the night stay. But they figured something was up with me and knocked me out and viola, here I am."

"Sounds like you," Rose said with a little smile, momentarily forgetting the boy possessed in the cage. Then her face dimmed,and she remembered that now wasn't the time to catch up. Or perhaps in Valerie's case, to meet properly. She stood again and tentatively approached the prisoner despite the Lady's warnings.

Valerie opted to not say anything again, knowing that Rose would likely not listen to her, no matter how warmly she greeted her. The blonde edges cautiously, her chains rattling lightly. Rose tugs at the chains lightly and when they didn't go farther, she kneeled before him, eye-leveled with the boy possessed.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"Don't enrage him," said one of the hostages, a man. Valerie shushed him quietly. He glared at her. Valerie merely turned her head, her gaze landing on Rose as she watched the interaction carefully. If anything happened to Rose, Valerie was certain that the Doctor would flip tables at her. Valerie didn't need that.

Rose continued. "Where are you from? You're not from Earth," she said knowingly. "What planet are you from?"

"Oh, intelligence," the boy mused aloud. His abyss-equivalent gaze swept over between Rose and Valerie curiously. The brunette shivered, feeling a cold chill come down her spine when his eyes landed on her.

Rose opted for another question. "Where were you born?"

"This body? Ten miles away," he replied, cooing in a mocking tone. "A weakling, heartsick boy, stolen away at night by the brethren for my cultivation." His lips twitched and his voice took a turn, sounding delighted in its menace. "I carved out his soul and sat in his heart."

"Alright," Rose frowned, perturbed by his words. "So the body's human but, what about you? The thing inside?"

"So far from home," he said, his voice softer now, merely masking the beast underneath.

Rose's face turned sympathetic as she said gently, "If you wanna get back home, we can help." She gestured between Valerie and herself. Behind Rose's back, Valerie shook her head slightly. The wolf beneath did not want to go back home, not when he has found a goldmine of a world.

True to Valerie's thoughts, the wolf said as much. He spoke of a world of industry, of workforce, of warfare and that he intends on turning into a such a purpose. Through the Holy Monarch; Queen Victoria. He crowed, his words were a promise for an empire. The boy possessed lunged forward, banging against the bars and everyone jumped. Valerie had to stifle a gasp as he leveled eyes with Rose.

"Look! Inside your eyes! You've seen it too!" he said.

"Seen what?" Rose replied, clearly confused. Valerie, however, knew exactly what he was talking about. _Bad Wolf._

"The Wolf! There is something of the Wolf about you!" Rose's skin had gone deathly pale, her breath labored and heavy. Valerie frowned in concern, inching closer to Rose.

"I don't know what you mean."

"You burnt like the sun," the boy possessed hissed, "but all I require is the moon."

As though on cue, the basement doors threw open with a loud bang. The moon's light filtered in, bathing the boy in its luminous glow. Valerie watched with borderline horror and curiosity as the boy pressed his face against the cold bars of his cage, blissful and eager to receive.

"Moonlight."

Valerie's legs wobbled under the sudden weight. "Rose, get back," she said as she pulled the blonde behind her.

"What's going on? What's happening to him?"

"He's turning," Valerie said.

"Into what?"

"My guess?" Valerie pursued her lips as she gestured to everyone to tug on the chains. Rose caught on easily and began yelling at them to follow their lead. "Werewolf."

Her fellow hostages shifted, uneasy. Rose took a step back, faltering as the possessed abandoned his cloak. The wind blew, strong and hard and the possessed grabbed the bars of his cage.

When the rest didn't, Rose grew irritated. "I said pull! Stop your whining and listen to me! All of you! And that includes you, your Ladyship! Now come on, pull!"

The rest scrambled to their feet, driven by their fear and Rose's aggravation. Valerie flinched hard, keeping hards on the chains attached to the wall as she pulled her hardest. She can hear the boy's bones cracking, the sounds of his transformation pain for both of the recipients involved. Out of the corner of her eye, she can see his skin bulging horridly, deformed in its turning. The boy possessed began to growl, losing more and more of his humane scream as each moment passed.

"Harder, keep pulling!"

Rose counted steadily. "...three... pull!"

Everyone tugged on the chain, desperate to free themselves and save their skins. "One...two...three... pull!"

The boy possessed, now the Werewolf, growled deeply. It was enough indication that his transformation from human to animal was complete. Valerie wasn't the only one to realize this. Around her, the maids and the Ladyship screamed in terror as they too, caught sight of the man turned wolf.

Rose grew urgent as she tugged harder. "One, two, three, pull!"

Relief flooded Valerie as the chain came free, the release of the force sending them all tumbling back. Valerie grabbed Rose's hand, just catching her from mid-fall. Just as the chains hit the ground, the door to the cellar broke open and the Doctor rushed in. Another wave of relief hit Valerie at the sight of him.

"Where the hell have you been?!" Rose shrieked.

The Doctor shot Rose a sheepish look, abashed. Although, any of the mind he paid her was long ago as he caught sight of the occupant of the cage. He gaped, stunned at the sight of the werewolf with wide eyes. "Oh, that's beautiful."

The man of the Estate (Valerie, for the life of her, couldn't recall his name) rushed in as he urged everyone out. "Get out!"

The Doctor was pushed out of his reverie as the Wolf bend and break his bars, chucking the cage off. The sound of metal crashing hard against the ground sent everyone clamoring to get out, hurling themselves over each other for their skins. Valerie pushed Rose ahead.

"Rose, go!" The blonde was hesitant but she was already pushing her out to the door.

"Out! Out! Out! Out! Out! Out! Out! Out! Out! Out!" He pushed everyone ahead of him, still admiring the creature. Quickly, reality snapped into him as he ducked, evading a piece of the crate thrown at him.

Valerie groaned, snatching his wrist and finally grabbing his attention. His wide gaze snapped to meet hers. "Come on, 'Doc!"

"Val! Hello!" He beamed, excited to see her. "Fancy seeing you here! And you're wearing your glasses!"

She tugged on his wrist, urging. With her free hand, she pushed her glasses up, feeling them slide down. "Now's not the time, 'Doc!"

The Time Lord nodded, realizing the severity of the situation as he slammed the door behind them and sonicked over it quickly, locking it shut. They ran off, trying to catch up with the rest.

"So, when are you?" He asked as they ran through the courtyard, heading straight to the gun room, where everyone else was.

Valerie hummed. "Er, this would be my... fourth trip?"

He seem to deflate at her words but he grabbed on her wrist, tugging her forward. They came into the room, just in time to see a man(the Steward, she assumed) handing off the contents of the gun cupboards to the men. He pushed guns and revolvers alike into their chest as he rattled off orders. Meanwhile the man from before turned to the Ladyship, his wife as he ordered her to take the rest of the maids and get themselves out of the kitchen. The Ladyship was hesitant to leave before she nodded, giving him a kiss before she ushered her maids out.

Valerie was slightly touched at their love for each other. You don't find that often in this time or century, especially among people of their status. Valerie turned to the Doctor, waiting expectantly for him to remove her shackles as he rattled iff.

"It could be any form of light modulated species triggered by specific wavelengths. Did it say what it wanted?"

Rose nodded. "The Queen, the Crown, the throne—you name it."

Valerie snorted, watching him sonic over her shackles as it fell to the ground, unlocked. "What else is new?"

Valerie can hear the sounds of heavy footfalls befalling onto the wooden floor, echoing. Then, suddenly, a loud crash reverberated in her ears. The Werewolf had bursted through a wooden door, likely. The Doctor shot up and went to investigate then after a few moments, he ran back in. He reached over and grabbed her's and Rose's wrists. He dragged them over behind the line of men who were poised and ready, their guns raised.

"Fire!" Each shot simultaneously hit the wolf who stumbled back a couple of steps, startled by the force. The sight brought hope to the men. Valerie frowned and she flinched, her ears ringing at the sound of guns releasing. She grabbed Rose's hand and tugged her close.

"Cover your ears!" She yelled, loud enough for the blonde to hear. Rose nodded and did as told, Valerie quickly following as the Steward bellowed.

"Fire!" The room rattled with each gunshot fired, the force of it sending smoke rising. Soon, the room was covered in smoke and the werewolf was no where in sight.

The Doctor turned to the soldiers. "All right, you men. We should retreat upstairs. Come with me."

"I'll not retreat," the Steward said adamantly. "The battle's done. There's no creature on God's Earth that could survive such an assault."

The Doctor grit his teeth. "I'm telling you, come upstairs!"

"And I'm telling you, sir, I will sleep well tonight with that thing's hide upon my wall." He headed towards the corridor, intending to check for the wolf.

"Wait, sir, don't—!" But it was too late. As the man strode towards them, mocking the creature as he went, he was hoisted into the air. Valerie gasped, catching sight of a claw wrapped tightly around the Steward. " _Oh my god._ "

She watched in utter horror, feeling a scream tore at her throat just as the werewolf tore through the Steward. The man's screams were horridly real to her ears ( _This is no dream, Valerie, it's real. It's very real,_ the Doctor had said) and the sound of torn flesh rippled through her. Bile rose up on her throat as her stomach churned. Valerie kept her hands to her mouth, certain that if she were to let go, she would puke. When silence befall upon them, Valerie couldn't bring herself to move. Death had happen in her previous adventures, yes, but never so openly. And it bothered her.

 _Is every adventure like this? Someone had to die?_ She caught sight of men, guns lowered in the fear that devoured them. "Don't just stand there! _Run_!" Although the men had been broken out of their dazed states, although they scrambled and clamoured for their safety, the wolf devoured them just as their fear did. Valerie grimaced, feeling tears well up on the corners of her eyes. She listened to the screams that rippled through the air, mixed in with the growls of the wolf and the tearing of flesh and broken bones.

"There's nothing we can do!" The Doctor grabbed her hand, pushing Rose ahead of them as he urged her. As they ran, his grip on her hand was tight, her skin paler than they should be and his knuckles whites.

* * *

They rushed into the room, the Ladyship's husband calling out to the Queen frantically. The severity of the situation made him frazzled but he wasn't the only one. As Sir Robert attended to the Queen, the Doctor glanced around, eyes searching for any possible escape routes.

The Queen looked at them, alarmed as she came down the stairs. "Sir Robert? What's happening? I heard such terrible noises."

Sir Robert checked over the Queen briefly as he told her, "Your Majesty, we've got to get out. But what of Father Angelo? Is he still here?"

She straightened. "Captain Reynolds disposed of him." Queen Victoria met Valerie's eye, and narrowed her eyes at her. "Who are you?"

Valerie snapped out of her reverie, the men's screams merely echoes in the back of her mind now. She suddenly realized who was before her and inclined her head deeply.

"My apologies, your Majesty. I am Valerie Sargent, and I'm with the Doctor," she said. The Queen's brows knitted suspiciously before she nodded, leaving it at that.

The Doctor turned to them. "The front door's no good, it's been boarded shut. Pardon me, Your Majesty. You'll have to leg it out of a window." He gestured to the door and the Queen obliged without complaint, heading in and the others quickly followed. Then as they came upon another room, Sir Robert spoke up before the Queen could go in.

"Excuse my manners, Ma'am, but I shall go first, the better to assist Her Majesty's egress."

The Queen nodded. "A noble sentiment, my Sir Walter Raleigh."

His emotions frazzled and the situation getting to him, the Doctor spoke up, his accent returned. "Yeah, any chance you could hurry up?"

Robert slid the window sill open, only to dodge, just a hairs away from getting hit by the gun shot. He breathed heavily, startled. Valerie gaped, sharing looks with the Doctor.

"I reckon the monkey boys want us to stay inside," he said, scratching his neck.

Valerie rose an eyebrow at him. " _No,_ what gave that away?"

He pinched her nose, earning a smack on the shoulder. "You're not helping."

The Queen frowned. "Do they know who I am?"

"Yeah, that's why they want you. The wolf's lined you up for a... biting," Rose said after a moment's hesitant. The Queen's frown deepened.

"Stop this talk. There can't be an actual wolf," she said, incredulous.

"I wish," Valerie huffed, cringing at the loud howl that seemed to reverberate through them. Alarmed, they quickly clamored out of the room. Hurriedly, they ran into the hallway, not waiting for the wolf as it badgered down upon the door.

Rose glanced between the Doctor and Valerie. "What do we do?"

"We run," was all the Doctor said.

Rose balked. "Is that it?" She turned to Valerie expectantly, hoping the brunette had a plan but Valerie merely shrugged, her expression taut and her face pale. She wasn't in the right state of mind to think of a strategy.

Her mind had wandered over to the men once more, thinking of the Steward and how tightly the Werewolf gripped his throat, its claws severing him apart. She couldn't help but think of the men who were frozen with fear, a second's too late when they scrambled away, victims to the wolf's claws. She couldn't hear anything, save for the blood that pumped in her veins and the slow (or was it fast?) beating of her heart. Everything else was white noise.

"You got any silver bullets?"

"Not on me, no."

The Doctor nodded. "There we are then, we run," he turned to the Majesty, demonstrating a jog on the spot. "Your Majesty, as a Doctor, I recommend a vigorous jog. Good for the health. Come on!" He snatched Valerie's hand, snapping her out of her reverie as they ran up the staircase.

They quickened their paste, having heard the wolf finally breaking down the door. They can hear the heavy footfalls of his feet bounding after them. The Doctor tugged on Valerie's hand and snatched the Queen's wrist, ushering them.

"Come on! Come on!"

Valerie panted heavily, sweat dripping down her forehead as the wolf bounded upon them. Being last in line, as she had urged the Doctor and Rose ahead, she can feel the wolf's presence just breathing down on her back. Valerie swallowed and looked over her shoulder, just in time to see the wolf ready to pounce. She opened her mouth to scream when a bullet shot at the Werewolf. It reeled back, momentarily stunned, backing. Valerie gaped, scurrying away after the Doctor as a man (the Captain, if she could recall) ducked behind the corridor, hurrying after the others. He clutched bits of the structure, obviously out of breath.

"I'll take this position and hold it. You keep moving, for God's sake!" He ordered, cocking his revolver as he turned to the Queen. "Your Majesty, I went to look for the property and it was taken. The chest was empty."

"I have it," Queen Victoria said. "It's safe."

The man seemed relieved at her words as he nodded. "Then remove yourself, Ma'am." He turned to address the Doctor. "Doctor, you stand as Her Majesty's Protector. And you, Sir Robert, you're a traitor to the crown."

"Bullets won't stop it," Valerie told him, her voice trembling as she watched him stride into the corridor. She couldn't believe him, how poise and ready he was for it.

He waved her off and she knew she wasn't the only one who knew he was going to die tonight. "They'll buy you time. Now run!"

The Queen and Sir Robert had already ran, the Doctor high on their heels. Rose seem to hesitate for a couple of moments but swiftly left, momentarily forgetting that Valerie wasn't following her. Valerie let out a labored breath before she scurried after them. As the others ran for the library, she spotted Rose just staring in dismay at the door, watching Captain Reynolds. Valerie clenched her eyes shut as she grabbed Rose.

"Rose, come on!" Valerie flinched, hard. She can hear each hopeless shot the Reynolds took, the strong, footfalls of the wolf as it pounced on him, the tearing of flesh and breaking of bones, and Reynold's scream. She scurried behind Rose, slamming the door shut behind her before the Werewolf could recover from its attack on the Captain.

"Barricade the door!" Robert yelled out, rushing over with furniture as he and the Doctor barricaded the door as best as they could. Valerie couldn't move. Any comprehendible thought was thrown out to the back of her mind, sealed shut. All she could hear was the rushing of her blood, the repeating chant of torn flesh and cracked bones and the screams of the long dead.

The Doctor made a shushing noise, noticing that something was amiss. "Wait a minute. Shush, shush, wait a minute." For a brief moment, there was lone howl that cut through the silence. "It's stopped."

Valerie watched him press his face against the door, her expression gaut and pale. She can hear muffled noises of footfalls fading. Relief flooded her like a wave, crashing against the shores of her mind. The wolf has retreated. For now.

"It's gone," the Doctor declared softly, as though in disbelief.

"No," said Rose. "Listen."

Valerie shook her head, tensed. Her previous flew out of the window as she can hear the footsteps and growls outside the walls. The wolf was roaming, searching for another door.

"Is this the only door?" asked the Doctor.

Robert nodded. "Yes," then, fervently, he shook his head. "No!" Quickly, he and the Doctor darted to the barricade the other door, Valerie shuffling after them to help.

They waited, listening in to the wolf contain roaming around the exterior of the room. Still searching, but unable to go in. Rose glanced over at Valerie, questioning.

"I don't understand. What's stopping it?"

The Doctor glanced around, analyzing the room. "Something inside this room. What is it? Why can't it get in?" He turned to Valerie, sliding over towards her.

"You're right," she nodded wearily, her voice lowering to a whisper. "There is something in this room. That something's engraved on its walls, carved and everything. I can't remember what it is, though. Sorry."

He smiled at her, ruffling her hair lightly. "That's fine, that's good enough for me." His mood dimmed as he muttered to himself, wondering what exactly it is.

"I'll tell you what, though," said Rose, a little grin on her face. Though it didn't exactly reach her eyes.

"What?"

"Werewolf."

Valerie tried to smile but she remembered the cries of the dead and her sad attempt of a smile dropped.

The Doctor's grin widen. "I know," he glanced between the two. "You both alright?"

"I'm okay, yeah," Rose replied reassuringly. She glanced over at Valerie, nodding towards her silently.

The Doctor nodded, turning over to Valerie. The young woman was silent in their unspoken conversation, her hazel eyes taking a glazed look onto them. She was here, yet not quite.

Valerie stiffened, feeling lean arms wrap themselves around her. She can feel the Doctor's chin resting itself on the top of her head. After a brief moment, she relaxed in his arms and stayed there.

"How are you holding up?" He asked quietly.

She buried her face into his chest. "Terribly," she replied.

He rubbed her back. The two stayed there for a moment before Valerie pulled away. She suddenly felt aware of Rose's presence and guilt rushed at her like an oncoming predator. She felt a hand wrap around hers and she flushed, thanking the Doctor silently.

"I'm sorry, Ma'am," everyone turned to face Robert who had spoken up. His face was ridden with guilt. "It's all my fault. I should have sent you away. I tried to suggest something was wrong. I—I thought you might notice. Did you think there was nothing strange about my household staff?"

"Well, they were bald, athletic. Your wife's away, I just thought you were happy," the Doctor commented idly, earning a harsh nudge. "Ow."

"Unnecessary commentary, 'Doc," Valerie scolded. He pouted, having been chided.

In her own attempt to relieve the mood, Rose spoke up. "I'll tell you what though, Ma'am, I bet you're not amused now."

"Do you think this is funny?" The Queen snapped then, far beyond from amused.

Rose grimaced. "No, Ma'am. I'm sorry."

"What, exactly, I pray tell me, someone, please. What exactly is that creature?" She demanded.

The Doctor rubbed his neck. "You'd call it a werewolf, but technically it's a more of a lupine wavelength haemovariform."

Valerie blinked rapidly, thinking hard. _Werewolf. Werewolf. In TV shows, what can kill a Werewolf? Silver bullets. Wolfsbane. Oh! Oh!_ She slapped her cheeks repeatedly, cursing at herself inwardly for not having to have seen it. She turned to the Doctor, ready to tell him before the Queen cut in, accusation in her voice.

"And should I trust you, sir? You who change your voice so easily?" The Doctor blinked, confused. "What happened to your accent?"

"Oh right, sorry, that's—"

Victoria turned to Valerie, her gaze sharp as they landed on her. Valerie flinched. The Queen's hard stare moved on to the Doctor. "I'll not have it. No, sir. Not you, not that thing, _none_ of it. This is not my world."

"'Doc," Valerie called out to him and he turned to her. Her eyes darted to one of the doors, where a carving of mistletoe was engraved on it. He rushed towards, leaning closely.

"Mistletoe," he murmured. "Sir Robert, did you father put that there?"

Confused, Robert merely shrugged. "I suppose, I don't know..."

The Doctor glanced over at the other door. "On the other door, too. No, a carving wouldn't be enough. I wonder." Unabashed, he deliberately licked the woodwork. Valerie snorted, a little amused at the looks he gained from the others. "Viscum album, the oil of the mistletoe. It's been worked into the wood like a varnish! How clever was your dad? I love him! Powerful stuff, mistletoe. Bursting with lectins and viscotoxins." He rattled on excitedly, oblivious to the looks.

"And the wolf's allergic to it?" asked Rose.

"Well, it thinks it is," the Doctor said. "The monkey monk monks need a way of controlling the wolf, maybe they trained it to react against certain things."

"Nevertheless, that creature won't give up, Doctor," Robert said. "And we still don't possess an actual weapon."

"Oh, your father got all the brains, didn't he?" The Doctor said.

"And it looks like I got all the tact," Valerie remarked, nudging him. "You're being an ass, stop it."

"As if you get to say anything, you hypocrite," said Rose with a teasing smile. Valerie bristled.

"Nah, really?!"

The Doctor nodded. "Good, I meant that one." He bounced over to the bookshelves, putting on his glasses. "You want weapons? We're in a library. _Books_! Best weapons in the world. This room's the greatest arsenal we could have." He chucked the books at Valerie and Rose who caught them akwardly. "Arm yourselves."

Valerie hummed, hugging her own stack close to her chest as she plopped herself down onto the floor. She didn't pay any heed to the others as she scanned through the pages, flipping them. She moved on to other books, finding them useless before she stumbled upon the last one. She flipped through it. Valerie grinned, waving the open book.

"Yo, 'Doc, I got something," she called out. The Doctor shuffled over towards, lifting his glasses nonchalantly. Valerie sniggered, looking at Rose as she mimicked him. Rose giggled as she approached the two, leaning over the Doctor's shoulder.

"Oh, you're good," The Doctor beamed. "Look what your old dad found. Something fell to Earth."

"A spaceship?" Rose guessed, scanning the contents of the page.

"A shooting star," Robert said as he began to read aloud. "In the year of our Lord 1540, under the reign of King James the Fifth, an almighty fire did burn in the pit. That's the Glen of Saint Catherine just by the monastery."

Rose furrowed her eyebrows, skeptical. "But that's over three hundred years ago. What's it been waiting for?"

"It was probably just a single cell that survived. Everything that comes down onto Earth's atmosphere usually burns up before it could touch the ground," Valerie said.

The Doctor nodded in agreement. "Adapting slowly down the generations, it survived through the humans, host after host after host."

"But why does it want the throne?" asked Robert.

"That's what it wants. It said so," Rose said. "The—the Empire of the Wolf."

The Doctor stiffened, his face somber. "Imagine it. The Victorian Age accelerated. Starships and missiles fueled by coal and driven by steam, leaving history _devastated_ in its wake."

Although Valerie knew that was never going to happen (History wouldn't let it and neither would the Doctor), the very thought shook her core.

Queen Victoria paled, seeming to think the same. "Sir Robert, If I am to die here..."

"Don't say that, Your Majesty," Robert said.

She ignored him, shuffling through her bag. "I would destroy myself rather than let that creature infect me. But that's no matter. I ask only that you find some place of safekeeping for something far older and more precious than myself."

The Doctor snorted. "Hardly the time to worry about your valuables."

The Queen shot him a look. "Thank you for your opinion, but there is nothing more valuable than this." She pulled out a diamond, grand in its appearance in a white that was fine and it was large. It looked around about a hundred carat. Valerie gaped, stunned by it.

She wasn't one for jewelry, sans for the pendant that sits itself nicely on her bare chest. But the sight of the diamond sent Valerie's mind booming with the sound of the cash ringing.

"Holy _fuck_ —"

Rose gasped. "Is that the _Koh-I-Noor_?"

The Doctor breathed. "Oh, yes. The greatest diamond in the world." The three of them inched closer for a better look.

"Given to me as the spoils of war," said the Queen. Valerie frowned a little at that but didn't say anything. The tensions were already high as it is. "Perhaps its legend is now coming true. It is said that whoever owns it must surely die."

The Doctor hummed. "Well, that's true of anything if you own it long enough. Can I?" The Queen paused before she handed it over to him. The Doctor pushed his glasses down to give it a better look. "That, that is so beautiful."

The _Kooh-I-Noor_ shone at the reflection of light, twinkling. Valerie could've sworn she can hear bells dance as the light sparkled. It meant Mountain of Light in Persian.

"How much is that worth?" Rose asked curiously, leaning around the Doctor's side.

"They say the wages of the entire planet for a whole week."

Valerie whistled lowly. "Well, I'll be damned, that's worth more than my university tuition." She glanced at the Doctor and jested, "Sucks that I can't take it."

The Doctor snorted. "If the Queen wasn't in the room, you would've done it anyway."

Rose smiled a little, incredulous. "Good job my mum's not here either. She doesn't have the same tact as Valley does. She'd be fighting the wolf off with her bare hands for that thing."

The three of them shared wide grins as they thought of Jackie Tyler. "And she'd win."

Robert glanced around inconspicuously. "Where is the wolf? I don't trust this silence."

Valerie's mood simmered, suddenly remembering the situation at hand. She licked her lips, curling her fingers around themselves. "Yeah, it's a tad unnerving."

"Why do you travel with it?" the Doctor asked the Queen.

"My annual pilgrimage," she replied. "I'm taking it to Helier and Carew, the Royal Jewellers at Hazelhead. The stone needs recutting."

"Oh, but it's perfect," said Rose.

The Queen's face softened in its sadness. "My late husband never thought so."

"Now, there's a fact," the Doctor said as he pulled off his glasses. "Prince Albert kept on having the Koh-I-Noor cut down. It used to be forty percent bigger than this. But he was never happy. Kept on cutting and cutting."

The Queen nodded. "He always said the shine was not quite right. But he died with it still unfinished."

Something about the words seem to hit the Doctor as he murmured. "Unfinished. Oh, yes." He threw the stone back to the Queen glared at him for his careless throw. "There's a lot of unfinished business in this house."

Valerie watched the Doctor curiously, though her ears strained for the werewolf. His eyes were wide with realization, showcasing the speed of his mind traveling. The Doctor rattled on, "His father's research, and your husband, Ma'am, he came here and he sought the perfect diamond. Hold on, _hold on_ ," He gasped, racking his hair with his hands. "All these separate things, they're _not_ separate at all, they're connected. Oh, my head, my head!"

Valerie snorted, suddenly reminded of the Eleventh Doctor at the way he paced around the room. Eager and wild, hyperactive in his actions. Although, the Tenth's way of doing it was more mature, frustrated with a lot of growling and unspoken cursing. While the Eleventh was relative to a child high on candy.

Rose shared a glance with Valerie. "Does he always do this?"

"Er, more or less," Valerie thought of the Ninth Doctor. He took on a more badass vibe, someone more serious although much more sassy and sarcastic. A lot different to this Doctor and the next.

The Doctor whirled around to face the Queen. "What if this house, it's a trap for you. Is that right, Ma'am?"

"Obviously."

"At least, that's what the wolf intended. But, what if there's a trap inside the trap?"

The Queen furrowed her eyebrows. "Explain yourself, Doctor."

"What if his father and your husband weren't _just_ telling each other stories. They dared to imagine all this was true, and they planned against it, laying the real trap not for you but for the wolf." As soon as the Doctor mentioned the wolf, plaster dust fell down from the ceiling. Valerie's head snapped up, catching sight of the wolf's figure just above the dome, devoured in skylight.

"Oh, _fuck,_ " she swore loudly, earning scandalized looks from the Queen and Sir Robert. She didn't pay them any head however as she pushed Rose ahead. She can hear the glass cracking under the wolf's weight.

"Out! Out! Out!"

They darted to the barricade door, throwing aside the furniture as they scurried to the outside. Valerie can hear glass shattering beneath the wolf, followed by a loud impact. The Doctor slammed the mistletoe doors shut. They ran down the library corridor, the Doctor shouting at them to get to the observatory. Taking a sharp turn around the corner, Valerie's eyes widened. Rose had turned, catching sight of the Werewolf at her heels. She didn't move, suddenly transfixed by the beast. Just as soon as the Werewolf bended its knees, ready to pounce at her, Valerie snatched Rose away. Then, before the Wolf could recover, it was drenched in liquid. It howled, startled by the ambush before it bolted off, retreating for now.

"Good shot!" The Doctor called out, rushing over.

One of the maids nodded her head. "It was mistletoe."

Rose clutched Valerie's arms which were stilled wrapped around Rose's torso. The blonde grinned at her friend, grateful. "Thanks, Valley." Valerie brushed it off with a little squeeze before they followed the Doctor to ensure the wolf had truly left. When it had, they ran back, just catching Robert and his wife sharing a passionate kiss before bidding a goodbye for now.

Valerie felt sympathy hit her. It was their last, she realized as they bolted up the stairs, heading straight to the observatory. Valerie hastened her pace, listening in to the Werewolf running after, recovered from its previous fright.

"No mistletoe in these doors because your father wanted the wolf to get inside!" The Doctor called out, urging everyone inside quickly. His eyes darted around the room. "I just need time. Is there any way of barricading this?"

"Just do your work and I'll defend it," said Robert, his face set into a determined expression.

The Doctor didn't hear him. "If we could bind them shut with rope or something..."

"I said I'd find you time, Sir," said Robert, his words catching everyone's attention.

Valerie looked at him, catching the tidbit of fear and her heart sank to her stomach. " _No_ ," she said, shaking her head adamantly. "Like hell!"

The man smiled at her, his smile laced with resigned sadness. As though he knew as much as she did. He had to die. "It is alright, Miss," he said.

Valerie disagreed. "No! We'll figure out something else!" She pushed him inside, her head pounding as she slammed the door shut. Robert spluttered, startled by her outburst.

"But Miss—" She shushed him harshly, grabbing his arm and chucked him against the door. He was startled by her wide eyes, her hair (which had been previously tied into low ponytail, had loosened and the hair tie was merely hanging by a couple of strands) was wild and sweat dripped down her forehead.

" _Shut up_! Now just hold the door back with me, best as you could!" He shut his mouth, obliging her. He was too bewildered by her sudden change of attitude. "Rose, come on!" Rose startled before she scurried on over, wedging herself between Robert and Valerie as she kept her back against the door.

The Doctor whipped his head. "Valerie, Rose—"

The brunette shot the Time Lord a look, snapping. "Shut up and do your thing!" She dug her heel down against the ground, steeling herself as the other two did the same.

Realizing that nothing could change her mind, he turned to the Queen.

"Your Majesty, the diamond," the Doctor demanded, holding out his hand.

"For what purpose?"

"The purpose it was designed for," was all he said. When Victoria handed him the diamond, he headed over towards the mechanism for the telescope.

Valerie, remembering that the Doctor needed someone, nudged Rose. "Rose, go help the Doctor."

"But—"

"Just go!" Rose ran off to help the Doctor. Valerie shared glances with Robert, mustering up a reassuring (albeit weak) smile at him as they listened to the heavy footfalls of the wolf, near approaching. They can hear its growl just reverberating through the doors. Valerie clenched her eyes shut, leaning her back agains the door as she mustered up her strength. She dug her heel, grounding herself.

She was fully aware of the fact that the chances of the wolf breaking the door down, no matter the strength between her and Robert (which were minuscule in comparison to the beast), were incredibly high. She knew that either, or perhaps both of them would die. But Valerie couldn't accept that. She imagined Isobel, drabbed in her darkest of clothing, mourning for a husband long dead. There was a pain, greater than death perhaps, when your love is no longer in this world. And Valerie understood the feeling.

"Your Majesty!" Valerie cried out, startling the Queen. "Prepare yourself!"

The Queen straightened, quickly searching for a feasible weapon as she scurried around the room. The werewolf had already arrived, pounding its whole weight against the door. Valerie grunted before she was pushed off, stumbling forward as the doors slammed opened. She didn't get a chance to recover, catching sight of Robert charging at the wolf.

"I committed treason for you, but my wife will remember me with honor!" He cried out, throwing himself at it. Valerie cried out, legs wobbling as she stood, frozen.

" _No_!"

But it was too late. Any chances of Robert winning were non-existent as the Wolf teared him apart. Valerie can hear the Doctor and Rose, the churning of the wheel coming in sync with her stomach. As soon as the Wolf finished with Robert, his whole body mangled and bloodied, it sniffed around, searching.

The moon shone down into the telescope lens, bouncing between the prisms and magnifying the light as it goes. It caught a whiff of Victoria, completely ignoring Valerie as it caught her within its vision. The Queen stood, shaking behind a chair with her cross in hand. The Werewolf darted forward. The Doctor scrambled, sliding the diamond over to where the light hits the floor. The light refracted upwards, catching the Werewolf in its beam and lifting it up off the floor.

Valerie clenched her eyes shut, the light too much for her eyes. The light brightened, seeping through her closed eyelids. She couldn't help but whimper, feeling tears streaking down her face as she imagined Isobel's face. Devastated. Agonized.

"Make it brighter," someone said. It was the boy possessed, his voice was human. "Let me go." Then as the luminosity intensified, there was a loud howl before the light vanished.

Valerie swayed, her eyes still closed before she toppled over. The Doctor and Rose ran to her, catching her just in time. Valerie can feel the Doctor's arms wrapping itself around her and Rose's voice asking if she was okay. Valerie didn't reply, instead, she buried herself into his chest and cried. She cried for the Steward, arrogant and ignorant as he may be. She cried for the men, devoured by fear just as they were devoured by the wolf. She cried for Robert, self-sacrificing and loyal to the crown, to the queen, to his wife.

The Doctor brushed her hair, shushing her sobs softly. "Shh, shh."

It was like that for a couple of moments before Valerie pulled away. The whites of her eyes tinted red and her cheeks still wet with tears. The Doctor kissed her forehead, whispering her with comforting words. He wrapped his arm around her as Rose moved over to her other side. The Time Lord looked over at the Queen, catching sight of her glazed look, her gaze directed to her hand.

"Your Majesty?" He piped up, snapping the Queen out of her reverie. "Did it bite you?"

She shook her head. "No, it's, it's a cut, that's all."

"If that thing bit you..."

"It was a splinter of wood when the door came apart," she said. "It's nothing."

The Doctor approached her. "Let me see." He reached over but she whipped her hand away, narrowing her eyes at him.

"It is nothing."

* * *

Valerie relished the morning glow, drowning herself with the smell of morning dew. She kept her head down, kneeling beside the Doctor and Rose and in front of the Queen. The latter stood regally, her sword in hand as she bestowed it upon their shoulders.

"By the power invested in me by the Church and the State, I dub thee Sir Doctor of TARDIS." She moved over to Rose. "By the power invested in me by the Church and the State, I dub thee Dame Rose of the Powell Estate." Then lastly but not least, her. Valerie stiffened, uncomfortable with the feeling of sharp steel laying itself upon her shoulders. "By the power invested in me by the Church and the State, I dub thee Dame Valerie of the TARDIS. You may stand."

They stood. Rose shared excited smiles with Valerie, who returned it wearily. It was a tad bit unreal, to think that she was an legitimate Dame. _Nice._ She forced herself to think of it, looking up at the sky after she inclined her head in silent thanks towards the Queen. She couldn't bear herself to look at Isobel who was dressed in all black, just as Valerie imagined.

"Many thanks, Ma'am," the Doctor said, grinning.

Rose beamed. "Thanks. They're never going to believe this back home."

"Your Majesty, you said last night about receiving no message from the great beyond," the Doctor said, his gaze softening. "I think your husband cut that diamond to save your life. He's protecting you even now, Ma'am, from beyond the grave."

"Indeed," she agreed before she glanced at Rose. Neither the Doctor nor Rose took notice of the way her face tightened. "Then you may think on this also. That I am _not_ amused."

Rose cheered. "Yes!" She turned to the Doctor, holding out her hand expectantly.

"Not _remotely_ amused," she added sharply, causing the mood to dimmer. "And henceforth I banish you."

Valerie bit her lip, borderline shock and amused. She had expected this but watching Rose's and the Doctor's face contort into astonishment made her nearly snigger, if a bit.

"I'm sorry?"

The Queen straightened, showcasing the iron beneath her gaze. "I rewarded you, Sir Doctor, and now you are exiled from this empire, never to return. I don't know what you are, the three of you, or where you're from, but I know that you consort with stars and magic and think it fun. But your world is steeped in terror and blasphemy and death, and I will not allow it. You will leave this shores and you will reflect, I hope, on how you came to stray so far from all that is good, and how much longer you will survive this terrible life. Now leave my world, and never return."

Valerie bowed again silently, before she forced herself to turn to Lady Isobel. The Lady blinked, startled by the sudden bow she received by the young woman.

"You..." Valerie trailed off, awkwardly. It was hard, she realized, to offer condolences and apologies to the mourning. "Have my deepest, most sincerest condolences, m'lady. Your husband was an honourable man and I hope you know that he has loved you, wholly and fully with his heart."

Valerie turned away then, unable to look at Isobel's expression. She didn't want to see the look on her face nor did she want to hear Isobel's reply, if there was one. She let the Doctor take her hand in his, as they walked out of the Torchwood Estate.

* * *

 **[THIRD PERSON POINT OF VIEW]**

* * *

Fortunately for them, they had managed to hitch a ride with farmer and rode in the back of his cart. The two of them chattered, discussing about the recent events. More often than not, they tried involving Valerie into it but the brunette was in no mood. She didn't see the worried looks she received from the two. The cart stopped, having arrived to its destination.

"Whoa!" Valerie hopped off, trailing behind the Doctor and Rose quietly as they headed off towards the TARDIS. Her mind was lost in her thoughts, though, she wasn't really thinking. Any sort of noise was merely white, barely audible and barely comprehendible.

"Cheers, Dougal!" The Doctor waved the man off as he rode away.

They began to walk, the Doctor and Rose laughing about the prospect of the Royal Family being werewolves. Occasionally, Valerie would snort or add a little comment or two but she kept to herself most of the time. It was troubling to the both of them, the Doctor and Rose.

As they stepped into the TARDIS, the Doctor turned to her, his concern rolled off into waves. He hadn't been able to fret over her as much as he liked considering the situation. He glanced at Rose, sharing a look and the blonde nodded in understanding.

"I'm headin' off to bed, see you guys in a bit," she said, waving as she headed down the corridor.

Valerie hummed, absent-minded. "Night, Rose."

The Doctor frowned deeply, leading Valerie to sit down in a nearby seat. He was worried for his friend. They've known each other for a couple of years, although he didn't know this Valerie as much as he liked. She was young, incredibly so. This was her fourth trip with him. This was the youngest version of her he has seen so far and it unnerved him, to see her so quiet and subdued.

He was aware of how affected she was by the deaths at Torchwood. The Steward, the men, Sir Robert... It would've been traumatizing for everyone. Not so much for Rose and him, nowadays considering their recent adventures. But this was Valerie, University student and young, 23-year old Valerie. She hasn't experienced most of them yet, so it was understandable to see her in this state. Then again, she always seems so affected by it. The deaths. It didn't matter whose it was, be it human or alien. He remembered that time when he first took Rose to the end of the world to see the Sun burn Earth. And that time when he had found the Dalek in Utah.

Valerie, no matter which version it was, was sensitive.

And he couldn't help but love that about her. On how she much she cared so much, for so many people. He didn't know what to tell her, his best friend, so he simply hugged her. He wrapped her tight around his arms, tucking her beneath his chin and he listened to her little whimpers. He held her still, despite the burning glow of artron energy that surrounded her whole. The Doctor held her close, clenching his eyes shut and his lips resting atop of her head as he bid her goodbye.

His arms felt empty.

* * *

 **A/N: Ah! Sorry for the wait! I was halfway throughout the chapter when it was Saturday and I nearly forgot! So, this chapter, ahem, isn't edited (but then again, the rest of the chapters weren't either). It's the longest chapter too! Whoo! I hope I keep you guys hyped for it though (I mean I know I get tired of long ass chapters too) Anyways, uh, I hope you guys enjoy this one! If there's any mistake or plot hole or anything, feel free to tell me! I'll gladly oblige. Anyways, thank you guys for reading! Next up is the Ninth Doctor!**

 **REVIEW REPLIES:**

bored411: Oh, i can't believe you reviewed and favourited! I absolutely love your story of Alex; _Alex - the Changer and Seer of Time,_ it was one of the few that inspired me so seeing you review made me so happy! Thank you for liking it!

KittyCatKate: Thank you, darling! I'm glad to keep you entertained! I hope to keep it up! 3

smhshelby: Oh, I know! My baby needs a break! And aweh, thank you! I try! Thank you so much for reviewing!

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Arashi - IV of VI: Frick, man, I LOVE YOU. And yes, good ol' V needs some sleep yeeh? Even if it was very weird. Oh, man I was tempted to but I was like nah, gotta follow the plot (finally set up the episodes! i'm getting my life together b!) anyways thank you for writing this review and supporting me and I can't wait to hear more from you!

Wingdings13: ah, yes, boy who is he? thomas? whooo? kiddinggg;))

Yes, who IS Thomas. Only the darkness knows...


	11. Aliens of LondonWW3: Chased

**FOR THE TIME BEING**

* * *

"This is how we live: chasing or chased."

— **Yasmin Belkhyr,** from _"Jamilah Sweeps the Rubble," Bone Light (via atreides)_

* * *

In all honesty, she was quite glad that she appeared where she had. In one of the back alleys of London, there would be no one of mundane sanity that would notice the bright, enveloping light and the apparition of a girl that wasn't there before. If anything, the only people that witnessed Valerie's bright arrival were the few addicts. Even then, they would've brushed it off as one of their hallucinations than think anything of it.

Valerie rubbed her cheeks, the skin dry from her onslaught of tears just moments earlier. She straightened her coat, brushing off any gathering dust. She stepped out of the alleyway as inconspicuously as she could, running her fingers through her hair. With little effort, Valerie mingled into the crowd, looking like she hadn't just popped out of an empty alleyway.

Though, the anxious expression on her face spoke volumes of her current feelings. With no destination in mind, Valerie had wandered through the London crowd mindlessly until she caught of something odd. And by odd, something that doesn't belong in typical streets. Her head snapped, catching sight of a— _is that fucking space ship?_ — barreling overhead with smoke in its wake. Suddenly, all of her thoughts back home dissipated into the back of her mind as Valerie darted forward, watching it as it missed Tower Bridge. It wove around St. Paul's and with a heavy splutter and back-fire, dove straight for the Thames. Valerie flinched hard, watching the space ship take out the Big Ben, the clock tower chiming with the sound of crashing waves.

 _What the fuck?_ Valerie gaped, not even bothered by the nudging and pushing as people gathered around to watch the spectacle. Valerie narrowed her eyes, wondering what year she was in. Just by the looks of things, she was still in the 21st Century, a bit younger than her initial year but not that much different. Millions of thoughts ran through her head like— _is this suppose to happen? Are we finally meeting_ aliens _—_ Valerie paused. Silence reigned in her mind as she glanced around, surveying the outfits of the people around her. She noticed the lack of phones in hand. There were phones, certainly, but not the ones she knew so well.

Right.

 _Right._

Valerie turned on her heel, shuffling through the cracks of the crowd as she heed her way to a nearby cafe. She dug through her pockets, feeling cash brush against her hands. Relief coursed through her. At least she has some cash on her.

It was already in the news when she stepped in. Outside, Valerie can hear the sounds of tank rolling and feet marching, mixing in with the noise of a helicopter. People were shouting, enraged as the British Army closed off the roads. In the cafe, people were watching the television with curiosity and interest as _News 24_ went on. Even the barista who had been taking her order was distracted by the TV, only half listening to Valerie as she ordered a simple, green iced tea.

" _Big Ben_ destroyed as a UFO crash lands in Central London. Police reinforcements are drafted in from across the country to control widespread panic, looting and civil disturbance. A state of national emergency has been declared. Tom Hutchinson is at the scene," The scene moved on, showcasing a young man outside near the crash site. People were running around, screaming behind him.

Valerie squinted her eyes, eying the blurred image of the space ship floating in the middle of Thames.

 _"_ The police are urging the public not to panic. There's a help line number on screen right now if you're worried about friends or family. The army are sending divers into the wreck of the spaceship. No one knows what they're going to find."

She stopped listening after awhile. There was a sense of _déjà vu_ filling her, a voice whispering in her head that she knew exactly what this is and how'll it end.

She really didn't.

A couple of people in the room gasped, followed shortly by excited or horrified chatter. In the TV, Valerie can see paramedics grabbing a stretcher and placing the body on it. Armed forces surrounded them as they headed for the ambulance, blocking off any person attempting to step in.

"They've found a body. It's unconfirmed, but I'm being told a body has been found in the wreckage. A body of non-terrestrial origins. It's being brought ashore."

Valerie sipped on her drink, raking through her mind. Where had she seen this? An episode, surely but it had to be one of the early ones if she couldn't remember it on the top of her head. Then again, _A Town Called Mercy_ was fairly recent when she saw it but it took her weeks to remember.

"A body of some sort has been found inside the wreckage of the spacecraft. Brought to the nearest shore. Unconfirmed reports say that the body is of extra-terrestrial origin. An extraordinary event unfolding here live here in Central London. The body is being transferred to a secure unit mortuary, the whereabouts is yet unknown. The roads in Central London are being closed off. It's the closest to river. Meanwhile, the body has been brought here, Albion Hospital. We still don't know whether it's alive or dead. Whitehall is denying everything."

She's going to have to ask about the date but without coming off as weird at the same time. Valerie scowled at that, her anxiety eating at her. What if she think she's a weirdo? Like, what idiot doesn't know the date? Or what if she's bothering them? Valerie shook her head, gathering up any leftover courage she had. She raked through her mind on ways to ask the person behind her for the date.

 _Excuse me, sir, may I ask what date is it?_ Valerie shook her head at that. _Too weirdly polite_ _._

"Man, isn't that wicked?" A young man whispered to his friend, a couple of tables to her left.

"I know!"

 _Sorry, do you know what the date is?_ Valerie nodded her head inwardly, satisfied. She'll do that.

Hutchinson continued. "I'm being told that General Asquith is now entering the hospital. The building's been evacuated. The patients have been moved out onto the streets. The police still won't confirm the presence of an alien body contained inside those walls."

Valerie leaned back, startling the person behind her. A man, who looked to be about his mid-thirties blinked rapidly as Valerie turned to him.

 _Don't worry, he's not gonna bite. Just say—Sorry, do you know what the date is?_

"Hey, what's the date?"

Valerie screamed incoherently in her head. _You fucked up. You fucked up!_

The man looked at her, bewildered. "It is the eighteenth of March, miss."

"And the year?" Sweat rolled down her back. It took everything for her to keep her face so composed, otherwise her lips would've been puckered and her eyes would've look as frazzled as she felt.

"... Two thousand and six, miss."

She didn't like the look on his face. "Great, thanks." She turned back, taking a long sip of her drink. She let out a deep sigh as she mulled over her mind. _London, 2006. Spaceship crash into Big Ben._ The news moved on, a woman was talking about the government bringing in alien experts from all over the world or something along those lines.

The doors to the cafe chimed, signalling someone's entry. Suddenly, all chatter and sound seem to cease and the news became white noise in the background. Valerie glanced up. There, at the entrance were a couple of armed men were looking around the room, as though looking for someone. Valerie tensed, feeling the atmosphere of the room turn heavy at their arrival.

She ducked her head down, hoping to look more inconspicuous but it didn't work it seemed. She can hear feet stomping her way and her gaze rose, meeting the steel eyes of an armed man. _Uh, what the fuck?_

He lowered his voice, a bare whisper. Like his words were meant for her and her only. "Valerie Sargent?" Words seem to catch itself at her throat, rendering her voice useless as she stared at him.

 _How does he know her name? What does he want from her?_ Valerie gulped heavily, trembling under the gaze of everyone around her. The man seem to take her silence as an answer as he nodded towards his men. They approached her, as though ready to pounce.

"You're coming with us."

* * *

Valerie didn't struggle. Not that she'd be able to, anyway. Athletically inclined she may be, she wasn't up to arms to armed soldiers. Instead, she sat in the car awkwardly squished in between two soldiers. She looked out at the window but the glass was obscured, blocking out anything she could see from the outside. She frowned, finding a deep set of dread circling her stomach and her throat dry. She left her drink at the cafe.

"Where are you t-taking me?" She asked, ignoring the small crack in her voice as she addressed the men beside her.

One of them glanced at her, hesitant to answer. He looked at his leader, the one who was sitting in the passenger seat. The apparent leader nodded.

"Downing Street, ma'am," was all he said before silence reigned the vehicle once more.

Left to her thoughts, Valerie wondered what made Downing Street so important. Besides the obvious association with Britain's government, nothing came to mind.

The vehicle stopped, signalling their arrival. Valerie stepped out and was suddenly pounced on with cameras flashing her way, people shouting and yelling at her for questions as the soldiers led her through. She grimaced, blinking her eyes rapidly as they lowered to the ground. They made certain to block off any persons attempting to go near her and she was glad for it. Valerie covered her face from the cameras, uncomfortable with the continuous flashes. She was half-tempted to give them the finger but thought better of it.

"Ladies and gentlemen, can we convene? Quick as we can, please."

She was led into a waiting room, where a young man was heading her way. Valerie didn't move, neither did her 'guards' as the man handed her an ID card. She hesitated before grabbing it reluctantly. She didn't put it on, even after he told her to. She glared at him. Valerie wanted nothing more than to know why she was here, and how the hell did they even get her name?

He shot her a look, clearly aggravated but didn't press on. "It's this way on the right, ma'am," the young man, who had introduced himself as Ganesh, said. He lead her to the meeting room, weaving through the people wandering about. "Please ensure that you have your ID card on your person at all times during this briefing."

Valerie nodded before she left the man to go sit down. Quickly, she found herself a seat closest to the back. Trepidation and discomfort mingled together as Valerie sat down, scanning through the papers handed to her. Her ID card laid idly on her lap, face and name down.

"Oh, it's you."

The latter snapped her head up, catching sight of a man adorned in a leather jacket and black pants. Valerie blinked rapidly, as though she couldn't believe her own eyes.

"'Doc?" The Doctor, the earliest she's seen him, in his ninth regeneration. The way he stood, guarded yet relaxed oozed out easy confidence that was always in every regeneration. He wasn't as young looking as his next regenerations but he was decently handsome in a good biker kind of way. His whole expression was set in charismatic arrogance.

"What are you doing here?" He asked, regarding her quietly. It was a bit off-putting, seeing him just stand there. He didn't treat her harshly but he hadn't greeted her like his later selves had.

In all her meetings with him so far, all of them regarded her happily, obviously glad to see her. This one, not so much. In fact, Valerie can see suspicion in his dark eyes and she wondered what goes on between them.

"I, uh," she scratched her neck awkwardly, unsure on how to take him. Was this how he felt? When she merely smiled and nodded at him in his too affectionate greetings? "Got dragged here, no idea why, but I think they think I'm some sort of alien expert." _Aspiring astrophysicist and all but..._

The Doctor stared at her, confused before something akin to remembrance flickered in his eyes. "Ah. When are you now?" The way he asked that question was nothing like his Eleventh or even his Tenth self had asked. It was as though he was hesitant to ask, no, more like he found the question unreasonable but he still had to ask anyway. His gaze went back down to the papers in her hand, grabbing them when she offered it to him.

"Er, I suppose this makes this my fifth trip?" She said, her words more of a question than an assertive answer. The Doctor nodded, opening his mouth to say something only to get cut off.

A man adorned in formal military get-up stood. "Now, ladies and gentlemen, if I could have your attention, please. As you can see from the summaries in front of you, the ship had one porcine occupant—"

The Doctor moved away from her side to go to the front. "Of course, the really interesting bit happened three days ago, see, filed away under Any Other Business. The North Sea. A satellite detected a signal, a little blip of radiation, at one hundred fathoms, like there's something down there. You were just about to investigate and the next thing you know, this happens. Spaceships, pigs, massive diversion. From _what_?"

Valerie tensed, stifling her own gasp as dread hit her. _Something's wrong._ She stared at the Doctor, her own eyes narrowing at him. He wasn't looking at her. If anything, he was looking at anything _but_ her. Valerie ignored the small sting as she darted her gaze between the General and the acting prime minister inconspicuously, hoping the Doctor would see and get the hint. Nevertheless, he hadn't glance at her once.

Internally, she threw her hands up. _Un-fucking-believable._

Valerie could just tell him outright but at what cost? Her gaze swept around the room, something akin to trepidation swept through. The earlier apprehension from Torchwood Estate rolled in, mixing in with her current trepidation. Something was amiss and she knew it, but what? She didn't know for sure.

 _Something's going to happen._ Valerie's eyes darted around, panicked. Her mind racked through ways and plans, thinking of anything, just anything. She forced her mind to remember, trying to figure out what goes wrong. Nothing came to mind.

Valerie felt her chest squeeze, her own breath going ragged. The person beside her leaned close, clearly concerned.

"Are you alright, miss?"

She glanced at him and reluctantly, she nodded. She wondered how she must looked to him. A young woman who looked like she barely just got out of college, attending a prestigious meeting like this. She probably looked sick to her stomach. And right now, she was right to. The man looked unconvinced at that but left it, returning his attention to the Doctor. Valerie followed, praying the Doctor would figure it out before anything could happen.

The Doctor continued, unabashed by her narrowing gaze. "If aliens fake an alien crash and an alien pilot, what do they get? Us. They get us. It's not a diversion, it's a _trap_."

Finally, the Doctor looked at her, noticing her staring behind him. Valerie prayed he can see the panic and fear in her eyes, see the way her shoulders tense or the way her gaze darted around the room. He frowned, not quite seeing as he went on.

"This is all about us. Alien experts. The only people with knowledge how to fight them gathered together in _one_ room," His speech was cut-off by another man who farted rudely. More scared than annoyed, Valerie watched as the Doctor narrowed his dark eyes at him. "Excuse me, do you mind not farting while I'm saving the world?"

The man grinned, gleeful. "Would you rather silent but deadly?"

The two men shared glances, mischief dancing dangerously in their gaze. Valerie stood, her ID card dropping to the ground inconspicuously. No one paid any heed to her, not with the way the General and the acting prime minister were acting. Valerie watched, her stomach churning as the General unzipped his own forehead, blue light flickering throughout the room.

"'Doc—" she called out to him, catching his gaze. She didn't get to finish, her words stuck in her throat as an alien, large and bulky stepped out of the General as though he was merely a tight suit. The being that posed as the General stood, nearly eight feet tall with large, incongruous black eyes in chubby faces.

"We are the Slitheen," the alien crowed.

Valerie took a step back, borderline intimidated and disgusted at the sight. They were not the prettiest creatures.

The other man, who had been laughing, stood with a sly smile. "Thank you all for wearing your ID cards," he said, taking out a remote switch. Valerie's gaze darted down to her own ID, where it lied innocently on the ground. His dark eyes gleamed. "They'll help to identify the bodies."

With a mere push of a button, the room was crackling with electricity as nearly everyone in the room screamed. Valerie stilled. Horror seeped through her core as she ran towards the Doctor. She was about to help him up but he held up a shaking hand, stopping her.

"No! Don't!" He grunted, gritting his teeth against the pain. With a heavy growl, the Doctor ripped off his own ID, struggling to stand. He darted forward sluggishly, slapping his ID against the collar of one of the Slitheen. It screeched, its screams voiding any sound in the room as the Slitheen and the man beside him were devoured in the crackles of electricity.

The Doctor turned away, grabbing her hand as they both darted out of the room. There was no time or any words for exchange as they ran out into the Entrance Hall, where soldiers and armed police men waited.

"Oi! If you want aliens, you've got them. They're inside Downing Street," the Doctor clapped impatiently, bolting back towards the briefing room. "Come on!"

Valerie panted, slithering in with the armed men as they followed the Doctor. _This is not what I was hoping for when I first meet this Doctor,_ she thought. She didn't glance at the armed men nor at their guns, a bit uncomfortable to in such close proximity. But the severity of the situation made it all less notable in her endeavor.

They ran into the room, Valerie stopping at the Doctor's side. The room was void of flickering lights and electricity but it was filled with corpses. The revealed Slitheen slithered to his disguise, considering that two of the original men were in the room. There was no hint to any terrestrial presence at all. All of the policemen swept into the room, readily checking the bodies.

"Where have you been? I called for help. I sounded the alarm. There was this lightening, this kind of, er, electricity, and they all collapsed," said the prime minister, earning a mild scoff from Valerie.

"I think they're all dead," one of the soldiers declared solemnly. Valerie did her best to ignore the remorse that gnawed at her, picking at her heart with bitter knives.

It helped when the disguised Slitheen kept pissing her off. "That's what I'm saying!" The prime minister said, pointing an accusing finger at them. "He did it! That man there! And that woman, she's his accomplice!"

"I think you will find the Prime Minister is an alien in disguise," the Doctor said then he paused, sharing sheepish looks with Valerie. "That's never going to work, is it?"

Valerie grimaced, shaking her head. "Sorry."

"Fair enough." The Doctor grabbed her hand, the two of them bolting out of the room. They ran down the corridor, heading out to the exit, only to be surrounded by the armed soldiers at both sides.

"Are you fucking _kidding_ me?" She lifted her hands up, her voice rising high at the sight of raised guns. She was starting to get really tired of guns pointed her way.

"Watch your mouth," the Doctor scolded her before he returned his attention to the General, a Slitheen in disguise.

"Under the jurisdiction of the Emergency Protocols, I authorise you to execute them!"

The Doctor grinned, looking more like a boy caught stealing candy than the man who has guns pointed at him in every direction. "Well, now, yes, you see, er, the thing is, if I was you, if I was going to execute someone by backing them against the wall, between you and me, little word of advice." As though on cue, something dinged behind them, the Elevator opening behind them.

Valerie stumbled, executing her grace as the Doctor waved at the soldiers. "Don't stand them against the lift!"

Before any of them could react, the door chimed with a close and the sound of the sonic screwdriver echoed lightly in the elevator.

Valerie met the Doctor's eyes, relief washing over them like calm waves. It was silent for a moment, save for Valerie's heavy breathing and the muffled sound of the lift. Then, after a pause, Valerie started to laugh.

The Doctor stared at her in surprised and then, he too, began to laugh.

* * *

Valerie paused, hearing disembodied voices coming a few rooms off. They were grating and croaky, low and rough with a little gurgle. She met the Doctor's eye, knowing that he heard it too. Nodding to each other, Valerie crept ahead as the Doctor grabbed a fire extinguisher from nearby.

A voice, high-pitched and familiar, screamed. Valerie tensed. _Rose._

The Doctor hastened his pace, propping up his fire extinguisher. Valerie followed him, worried for Rose. The Doctor burst into the sitting room, already firing his fire extinguisher at them. The Slitheen screeched, startled by the attack.

"Out, with me!" The Doctor ordered. Valerie inched closer, as Rose and her companion scrambled to hide behind him.

Valerie tilted her head curiously at the older woman. "Sorry, but who the hell are you?"

She looked to be about in her late forties, adorned in a formal suit and skirt. Valerie pursued her lips, a bit put off by the stagnant smell of stale perfume.

The woman, looking rather frazzled, beamed at her. "Harriet Jones, MP for Flydale North."

Valerie blinked, the name sending signals she couldn't discern. Harriet Jones, Harriet Jones... She wondered if this woman held an impact in the later episodes.

"Nice to meet you!" The Doctor said as Valerie inclined her head silently. She was afraid that if she opened her mouth she might say the wrong thing.

"Likewise," Harriet said.

Rose turned to Valerie, taking the small chance to give her a quick hug. "Valley! Hi! When'd 'ya get here?"

Valerie balked, stuttering. "Er, well—"

"Run!"

Having used up all of the fire extinguisher, the Doctor pushed them forward, urging them to go out. Valerie bolted out, tugging Rose and Harriet behind her as the Doctor took up the rear. They ran down the corridor, their footsteps thudding heavily against the floor. The Slitheen screeched, heavy bodies lumbering after them. Valerie's heart speed up under the adrenaline of it all, terrified for her life.

 _What the fuck. What the fuck. What the fuck._

"We need to head to the Cabinet Room," the Doctor said, speeding up so he could be at the front.

Harriet nodded. "The Emergency Protocols are in there. They give instructions for aliens."

"Harriet Jones, I like you!"

Harriet blushed, flustered. "And I like you too."

Valerie looked over her shoulder, noticing that she has taken up the rear. "'Doc, I'm really hoping you've got a plan or something because being chased by fat greens isn't the best thing!"

"I'm thinking!" He yelled back.

Finding the Cabinet Room, Valerie scurried in after Rose and Harriet. Meanwhile, the Doctor grabbed a decanter from a side table and stood protectively in the doorway. Valerie crossed her arms, heading over at his side.

"Oh good, I seriously need a drink," she said jokingly, lips curling in anxiety as the Slitheen stood in front of them.

The Doctor snorted. "You don't even drink!" Valerie blinked at that, wondering how the hell did he know that. The Doctor face turned threatening as he regarded the three Slitheen. "One more move and my sonic device will triplicate the flammability of this alcohol. Whoof, we all go up. So _back off_."

The Slitheen, who had inching in closely, took a step back. The Doctor grinned. "Right then. Question time. Who exactly are the Slitheen?"

"They're aliens," Harriet piped up helpfully. Valerie shot her an eyebrow.

"I think he knows that," she whispered, to which the Doctor nodded to agree with her.

"Who are you, if not human?" One of the Slitheen asked, intrigued.

" _Who's_ not human?" The older woman asked, looking questioningly at Rose and Valerie.

"He's not human," Rose said.

Harriet blinked rapidly. "He's _not_ human?"

The Doctor grunted, annoyed. "Can I get a bit of a hush?"

Chastised, Harriet mumbled a little sorry. Valerie sighed, walking away from them to prop herself down on the chairs. She rubbed her forehead, feeling a headache coming up. With all the running and escaping from the grasp of green aliens, she's starting to have a hard time comprehending things.

"Ugh," she groaned minutely, slamming her head on the table. "I'd rather be doing my research study right now than handle this..."

Valerie thought of her unfinished essay on Temporal Domains and the piles of notebooks at her desk, waiting to be filled with notes and doodles. She thought of the research project she was supposed to do, that determined her earning for a doctorate degree. She hadn't even thought of a subject for it yet and god, didn't that stress her out? And then, there's the stuff after—like her career. Not the barista one. Like a _legitimate_ career.

She hadn't even thought of a career for it. She picked Astrophysics for good reason and the reason was this: Space. The stars. The universe. It fascinated her to end but what good would her fickle dreaming and needless thoughts do for real life?

Valerie sighed, leaning back from the table as she wondered. For the most part, the adventures she's been with the Doctor have been fun, scary and certainly filled with action. She only had a couple moment of peace, that one time when she first stepped into her bedroom and the time spent at the cafe but even then the times spent there had been scarce. Valerie felt a craving for a mundane day, a day she would've spent dipping her brushes in paint and plastering over a canvas and occasionally sipping an ice tea while she was at it.

 _God, what would I do for another drink?_ It's only been a couple of hours since she's had her classic iced tea drink and by gods, was she already craving for it. Running around with the Doctor and popping on and off again at different points of time and the universe didn't give her enough time to sit and have another drink or two.

Valerie groaned, throwing her head back as her head throbbed lightly. A headache was forming and she hadn't even thought about other adult things like mortgage or her electricity and water bills _—_ her eyes popped open.

 _My bills! Oh my god!_

She thought of the lights still on in her living room, her long overdue phone and everything in between. Valerie swore in French, her words barely audible for anyone to hear as she grasped the roots of her hair.

Now, unfortunately, wasn't the time to think about silly things.

Valerie glanced over at the Doctor and the rest, watching him question the Slitheen. She looked away, scared to see him catch her staring. This Doctor was wary of her and she knew it, even in the times of laughter and supposed casual air, he was tense in regards to her. She didn't like it. _But at least_ , she supposed, _he's not being a dick to me._

 _Moving on._ Valerie thought hard about the situation. London, 2006. The Ninth Doctor, obviously early in terms of episodes. Fat, ugly aliens who fart. _Harriet Jones._ Valerie gasped, slapping her forehead loudly.

"Oh!" She stood up, grabbing everyone's attention. "Gah, I'm a _fucking_ idiot!"

"Uh, are you alright there, Valley?" Rose inquired, brows furrowing in concern though she didn't look too confused. As though Valerie did this often. The Doctor glanced over his shoulder, curious.

Realizing her own mistake, the barista blushed. " _Uh, shit_ —nothing! Nothing's wrong! All good here!" _You fucked up. You fucked up._

The Doctor shot her a bewildered look, moving on. Meanwhile, Valerie walked around the room, eying the details curiously. If she was right, if this was indeed the right episode she was thinking of then...

Valerie looked over shoulder, eyes narrowing in at the frazzled, feeble figure of _the_ Harriet Jones. _Future Prime Minister_. Then her gaze went over to the Doctor who looked like the sheepish hero he was, improvising as he saves the world. She snorted, watching him ramble on and on about Downing Street.

The sound of metal shuttered loudly, encasing itself around the windows and doors. Valerie shoved her hands into her coat pockets as she headed back to the rest. She couldn't help the snicker that left her lips as she watched the Doctor go on. She met Rose's eye, sharing similar looks of borderline amusement and aggravation.

"Installed in 1991. Three inches of steel lining every single wall," the Doctor crowed, grinning smugly. "They'll never get in."

"And how do we get out?" asked Rose.

"Ah."

Valerie laughed.

* * *

 **A/N: OH MY GOD. I'M A WHOLE WEEK LATE. GUYS I'M SO SORRY. I JUST, LIKE LITERARILY JUST FINISHED FINALS so you can like imagine the stress on me and with my part-time job and everything, it's hard to post and be on the internet. Really, I haven't even DM'ed my friend on tumblr yet, sorry love! (you know who you are I hope)**

 **Anyways, uh, I know this chapter isn't that great compared to like Death's Call or uh the one for Flesh and Stone but I hope you guys like it! And for those who were waiting expectantly for nine! He here is! Although their interaction is scarce right now, i'll be bringing it up to speed with the next one!**

 **REVIEW REPLIES:**

 **Guest** : Aweh, thank you so much! And I'm glad! I try really hard to make her as realistic as possible! And yes, of course! Twelve will be, although it'll be a little bit more chapters until he appears! And I have a good reason for that. And yes, oh my god! I love Peter Capaldi's portrayal of him! And really? Oh my gosh, yes please! I would appreciate love!

 **mynameisella** : Oh, girl, same! And Thank you for reviewing!

 **Arashi - IV of VI** : Love, love you! You're great ! And thank you for reviewing, you're honestly one of my favourites.

 **Guest** : Thank you! Oh, well, I do intend for him to take the romantic route with Valerie but I'll have to be honest with you, it'll definitely be a slow burn! And yes, of course! Being in love with Rose is part of his character as Nine and Ten, I think. So, that's why he and Valerie are just best friends for now.

 **MageVicky** : Thank you for reviewing! And yes, I agree! Some things are meant to be.

 **. .True.24601** : Thank you love! And thank you so much for reviewing! I really appreciate! And yes! whenever movies show people ripping out their IVs irritates me so much and I'm like ? it doesn't work like that! Thank you again, Alisa!

 **twilightvamps** : Thank you? I guess you're a bit excited huh? Btw, it's uh, Valerie not Violet but I appreciate you reviewing!

Twilightvamp1999 : Are you the same person as ^^ Anyways, well thank you! And yes, this is intending to be a romantic doctor/oc! And I don't know about that yet, maybe, possibly? Thank you again!

 **smhshelby** : Thank you, love! I really appreciate your input on this! And yes, me too! (even tho I'm the writer) I can't wait for you guys to find out who he is.

 **Pastel-Potatos** : Hi! Thank you so much! And yes, I realized that a couple days ago when I was still writing this chapter! I tried incorporating it into this chapter but trust me, it'll appear more and more later on. Thank you so much for reviewing and giving me your input!

 **Maethoriel Artemis** : Thank you! And here is the Ninth! I hope you enjoy it!

 **vortexFM** : Aweh, you're so sweet! Thank you so much! (honestly I love youu for this review aweh) And yes, I know! I was half-tempted making Valerie excluded from it (you can actually see in the chapter if you read it closely enough) but I thought it wouldn't be realistic if she didn't get banished, y'know?

Oh yes! Thomas will definitely have a big impact on this story and Valerie's character and you'll see why, but not any time soon I think. Promise though, you'll have fun with him! And yes, there is a bit of reason for Valerie's nicknames from each companion and it'll appear in later chapters I hope! And thank you! I try my best to input the Doctor's feelings as well!

And yes, most certainly! My baby needs to get some health on her! And me too! I can't wait for her to meet Jack, 12, Donna and River again! Honestly, it's a high writing them! And thank you again! Gosh, I feel so loved hearing your compliments! Thank you so much for reviewing, love!


	12. WW3: Revelations

**FOR THE TIME BEING**

* * *

"His dark eyes took me in, and I wondered what they would look like if he fell in love."

― **F. Scott Fitzgerald** , _The Love of the Last Tycoon_

* * *

Trepidation coursed through her body as she eyed the corpses with unease. She slipped past the Doctor and the rest, crouching down. Valerie bit her lip hard, shivering under the cool skin of the two dead bodies. The sight of the secretary, the one whose name was never given to her, made her feel sick.

 _Someone ought to have known his name._ She dipped her head in silent respect to the secretary and the Prime Minister. In her head, apologies that should've been said aloud was repeated over and over in a mantra.

Another dead. Another to the growing, growing list it seems.

"What was his name?" The Doctor asked, his face solemn.

"Who?" Harriet asked.

He gestured to the secretary. "This one. The secretary or whatever he was called." He glanced between Harriet and Valerie who looked away, not guilty but remorseful.

"I don't know." Harriet merely shrugged, though anyone can see the obvious guilt in her own weathered face. "I talked to him. I brought him a cup of coffee. I never asked his name."

The Doctor met Valerie's gaze, waiting for her answer quietly. She didn't say anything.

"Sorry," he finally said, his eyes still on her as he talked. "Right, what have we got? Any terminals, anything?"

Rose shook her head. "No, this place is antique," her eyes landed on the Prime Minister, frowning deeply. "What I don't get is, when they killed the Prime Minister, why didn't they use him as a disguise?"

"He's too slim," the Doctor replied. "They're big old beasts. They need to fit inside big humans."

"But the Slitheen are about eight feet. How do they fit inside?"

Valerie stood, deciding that there was no point in their conversation. Her mood simmering down into one of foreboding. The situation at hand was not the greatest. Considering their hand right now, they were at a disadvantage, especially when they're trapped between steeled walls and the Slitheen in the midst.

"Great, fucking great," she muttered, swallowing the bile that rose on her throat. She glanced over at her companions. Harriet was looking over the protocols as Rose and the Doctor chatted idly. Her frown deepened as she headed over to sit next to Harriet.

"Anything?" Harriet shook her head, solemnly.

"No, they only list the people who could help and they're all dead downstairs," Harriet said before she paused and amended, nodding at Valerie. "Except for you."

Valerie blinked in disbelief. " _I'm_ on the list?" She leaned over Harriet's shoulder, skimming through the names before she found hers. **_Valerie Sargent_** was italicized and bolded and there was a little asterisk besides her name. She skimmed further. _There_.

 **— DOCTOR'S COMPANION.**

Her thick eyebrows furrowed deeply in thought, wondering how and when did the British Government catch her name and her status.

Harriet looked at her curiously. "You didn't know?"

"No," was all Valerie said before their conversation was cut short as the Doctor approached them.

"Harriet Jones. I've heard that name before. Harriet Jones. You're not famous for anything, are you?" The Doctor questioned curiously, dark eyes scanning Harriet's face as his mind raked through.

Harriet snorted. "Oh, hardly."

"Rings a bell," the Doctor said. "Harriet Jones?"

"Lifelong backbencher I'm afraid, and a fat lot of use I'm being now," Harriet remarked. "The Protocols are redundant. They list the people who could help and they're all dead downstairs. Except her." She bobbed her head towards Valerie.

The brunette shrugged.

"Hasn't it got, like, defense codes and things?" Rose asked, peeking at the Emergency Protocols over Valerie's shoulder. "Couldn't we just launch a nuclear bomb at them?"

"You're a very violent young woman," Harriet commented, looking at Rose with a horrified look.

"I'm serious. We could."

Valerie snorted, shaking her head. "Doesn't work like that, Rose," she said, crossing her arms idly. "The codes for the Nuclear strikes are kept a secret by the UN and with good reason, too."

"Say that again," the Doctor blurted out, startling her. Valerie had to hold back a flinch from the intensity of their eye-contact as she looked away.

 _Oh, sorry, I didn't know we were talking again_ was all she wanted to say but instead the words were; "What?"

"The codes," the Doctor clarified slowly, as though he was talking to a child. "Anything. All of it."

"Er, well," Valerie shifted awkwardly under the Doctor's gaze. She gestured to Harriet. "I think Miss Jones would know more of the subject than I would..."

The Doctor, oddly enough, looked promptly disappointed at that but he nodded, turning to Harriet expectantly.

Harriet straightened, a tad startled. "Well, the British Isles can't gain access to atomic weapons without a Special Resolution from the UN."

Rose scoffed. "Like that's ever stopped them."

"Exactly, given our past record," Harriet agreed. Valerie wondered if something happened in the UK that she didn't know of. "And I voted against that, thank you very much. The codes have been taken out of the government's hands and given to the UN. Is it important?"

"Everything's important," the Doctor told her, listening attentively.

"If we only knew what the Slitheen wanted." She paused, realizing her own words with a little astonishment. "Listen to me. I'm saying Slitheen as if it's normal."

"What do they want, though?" Rose asked.

The Doctor and Valerie shared looks. Then, simultaneously, blinked, just noticing their actions. The Doctor averted his gaze first, pretending as though they've never made any eye contact in the first place.

Valerie frowned, trying hard to ignore the slight sting. "They're just a family, right? So obviously, it's not an invasion, and they're a business too so they're trying to get something from Earth to sell. Like an asset or something, yeah."

"Like what, gold? Oil? Water?" Harriet asked, rattling off options.

The Doctor beamed at her. "You're very good at this," he cast a glance to Valerie's way.

Valerie, not seeing the look he gave her, grumbled under her breath. _Where's my appreciation, you dick?_ Realizing what she just thought, she cringed. She shouldn't be thinking of the Doctor that way, not when he had good reason to be like that. This was early, for him, for her and even for Rose. It was only logical that he would only treat her as a reluctant ally that shares a common enemy. Their interactions, if you could call it that, have been scarce despite being in the same vicinity. The running, the planning and trying to not get killed by giant, green, alien things left no room for conversation.

Harriet blushed. "Thank you."

"Harriet Jones," the Doctor repeated her name again. He was still unable to figure her name out. "Why do I know that name?"

Someone's phone beeped insistently, garnering everyone's attention. Valerie glanced over at Rose who blushed slightly at the interruption.

"Oh, that's me," she said, whipping her phone out.

"But we're sealed off," Harriet pointed out in disbelief. "How did you get a signal?"

Rose nodded at the Doctor. "He zapped it. Super phone."

Harriet's hope rose as the idea came to her. "Then we can phone for help! You must have contacts."

Valerie shook her head, feeling bad at the crushed look on the older woman's face. "Dead downstairs, yeah."

"It's Mickey," Rose declared, her phone close to her ear. The Doctor's face shifted into one of annoyance.

"Oh, tell your stupid boyfriend we're busy," he said bitingly, earning a look from Valerie.

"Don't be a dick," she scolded. She never liked the way the Doctor treated Mickey. Whether because of Rose or anything that Mickey did, the Doctor was unusually antagonistic towards the young man. The Time Lord frowned in distaste but kept his mouth shut surprisingly.

Rose shot him a smug look. "Yeah, well, he's not so stupid after all," she said, holding out her phone screen for all of them to see. There, in the flesh and under the scrutiny of the flash, was a photo of a Slitheen.

"Look at that, 'Doc." Valerie grinned, her and Rose sharing the same, smug look on their face.

"Wipe that smug look off your face." He narrowed his eyes at her, though his words were more of a jest than anything. It was the nicest he said to her since the conference meeting. She can still see the suspicion in them though. Her smile wavered.

Valerie turned away, not wanting him to see that little bit of weakness. She walked around the room, stretching her legs slightly with each stride. Things were starting to get tricky from here and she didn't know what to do. While things should turn out fine, she couldn't help the tiny bit of anxiety that crept through. From the corner of her eye, she can see Rose's face scrunch up in deep concern.

"Is she all right, though?" _Her mother_ , Valerie realized with an indescribable feeling. "Don't put her on, just tell me."

With her eyes turned downcast, she didn't see the Doctor snatching Rose's phone rudely. Her own thoughts were shrouded with mists of nostalgia. Each blink garnered an image of _home_ with the scent of fresh bread wafting her nostrils. Valerie couldn't help but feel the twinges of envy towards the younger girl. _Must be nice to be worried over._

"Oh, leave him alone!" Rose scolded loudly, nudging him on the side as Valerie shuffled over to them.

She plopped down on the seat close to them, watching the whole thing open up. She hate to admit it but there really wasn't much she could do. Valerie glanced over, catching Harriet watching the scene with something akin to fascination and little bit of fear. She was no politician or master genius or a hacker but she was a person and the least she could is offer the older woman some comfort.

Even if she was shit at it.

"You alright?" She asked, voice only audible for Harriet to hear.

The older woman blinked, startled by the sudden question. "Oh, yes, I am. Thank you."

Valerie couldn't help the inward relief that flooded her. _Thank God._ She wasn't the best person to offer comfort.

"Ah, well, uh, that's good." Valerie was about to turn away so she could listen to the Doctor when Harriet spoke up again.

"It's just that —" _Oh my god._

"Big Ben—why did the Slitheen go and hit Big Ben?" The Doctor asked aloud, cutting off Harriet in mid-speech.

"You said to gather the experts, to kill them," said Harriet, momentarily forgetting her own worries.

The Doctor crossed his arms. "That lot would've gathered for a weather balloon. You don't need to crash land in the middle of London."

Rose nodded. "The Slitheen are hiding, but then they put the entire planet on Red alert. What would they do that for?" The blonde frowned, her mother scoffing loudly through the phone. "At least I'm trying!"

"Any idea?" The Doctor asked Valerie, noticing that she hadn't offered her input in at all yet.

Valerie blinked. "Oh, uh—"

The speaker crackled, Jackie's voice overlapping the silence. "Well, I've got a question if you don't mind. Since that man walked into our lives, I have been attacked in the streets. I have had creatures from pits of hell in my own living room, and my daughter _disappear_ off the face of the Earth!"

Rose spluttered. "I told you what happened!"

Jackie ignored her, her words solely meant for the Doctor. "I'm talking to him. 'Cos I've seen this life of yours, Doctor."

Valerie felt herself agree on Jackie's words, empathizing with the woman's feelings. Although she wasn't a mother herself nor did she ever had anyone that solely cared her in the recent years, she can understand Jackie's deep concern. Especially with the way things have turned out. The whole adventure called the Doctor's life is certainly not for the faint of the heart.

"And maybe you get off on it, and maybe you think it's all clever and smart, but you tell me." There was pause and a sharp intake of breath. "Just answer me this. Is my daughter _safe_?"

 _No._

Valerie thinks of the later episodes, with Ten. Valerie thinks of the danger that comes with the Doctor. Valerie thinks of the Torchwood Estate and the lives taken, and how _easily_ it could've been Rose.

"I'm _fine_ ," said Rose. Her mother nor the Doctor, who had gone considerably quiet in the middle of Jackie's speech, paid her any heed.

"Is she safe?" Jackie asked again, her voice cracking. "Will she always be safe? Can you _promise_ me that?"

The brunette grimaced, finding herself watch the Doctor's face cool into indifference. In his dark eyes, she can see his feelings unleash beneath them.

Fear.

Of what?

Valerie dares to glance at Rose.

Losing her.

Even though this was early, so, so, early for the two of them, it was so clear. This was the beginning of the Rose and the Doctor, a tale of something unspoken and never uttered. It's such a hard thing to believe that she's been there with them through all of it.

"Well, what's the answer?"

Mickey's voice cut in, slicing the tension with a hot knife. "We're in."

The dark look on the Doctor's face dissipated as he rattled on instructions for Mickey. "Now then, on the left at the top, there's a tab, an icon. Little concentric circles. Click on that." It escaped no one's notice that he had actively avoided Jackie's question. His silence should be answer enough.

"What is it?" Mickey asked.

"The Slitheen have got a spaceship in the North Sea and it's transmitting that signal. Now hush, let me work out what it's saying."

"He'll have to answer me one day," Jackie said.

"Hush!" Valerie leaned over, listening in to the sound of waves. Though her ears strained to hear, she couldn't decipher much out of it. Not that she could anyway. She's no alien.

"It's some sort of message," the Doctor murmured, brows furrowing in thought.

"What's it say?"

He shrugged. "Don't know. It's on a loop, keeps repeating."

The sound of the doorbell rang loudly through the phone, intercepting the noise. The Doctor scowled, shushing at it while Valerie groaned, raking through her own mind. In a episode so early own, her mind was drawing up the details blank.

"It's beaming out into space, who's it for?" The Doctor mused aloud. His eyes drifted from the phone to Valerie's eyes, his gaze silently questioning. She merely shrugged.

 _"It's him! It's the thing, it's the Slipeen!"_ Valerie swore loudly, her shoulders tightening as she shot up from her seat.

 _"They've found us."_

"Mickey, I need that signal!"

Rose stared at the Doctor incredulously. "Never mind the signal, get out! Mum, just get out! _Get out_!" The young girl's face was scrunched in worry, her eyes darting between the Doctor and Valerie, begging them to do something.

 _"We can't. It's by the front door."_ Valerie can hear Mickey's words dipped in trepidation, his voice shaky. _Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. "Oh, my God, it's unmasking. It's going to kill us."_

She stood, the legs of her chair scraping loudly against the floor. She can't bear to sit around, not when Rose's mom and Mickey are on the verge of intimate danger.

"There's got to be some way of stopping them!" Harriet said, snapping at the Doctor. "You two are supposed to be the experts, think of something!"

"I'm trying!"

Gritting her teeth, Valerie glared at Harriet. "As if shouting at us is gonna be any help!" _Come on, come on, I know what can kill them. I know what can kill them. I just need to remember!_

"— _Just run."_

* * *

 **THIRD POINT OF VIEW**

* * *

At the sound of the door splintering, just breaking apart from the force the Slitheen must've put in, Valerie swore loudly. Harriet shot her a look at her use of language, though, she herself was looking more frazzled. Rose was on the verge of tears, only sheer will seems to stop her own breakdown. Meanwhile, the Doctor was pacing around, his mind whirling with species and planets as he searched through the depths of his knowledge. There were too many to name and too many to know and there's _not_ enough time—

He caught Rose's eyes. "That's my mother."

Something in her voice stopped him. The facts and knowledge slowed to a mere hum, as though the vulnerability, the _trust_ in them soothed his whirlwind of thoughts.

" _Right_ , If we're going to find their weakness, we need to find out where they're from. Which planet. So, judging by their basic shape, that narrows it down to five thousand planets within traveling distance. What else do we know about them? Information!"

As Rose and Harriet shot off details and behaviour to him, Valerie's eyes brightened. She knows they fart all of the time because their bodies are compressed considerably in human skins, the release of gas may be a fart but it's something else as well. It smells different. Valerie only knows one planet like that. And while she couldn't just outright say it, for the sake of the plot, she can quicken the process.

"Hold on," she spoke up, silencing them. She couldn't help but stare at the Doctor as she rattled on without breathe, her thoughts from a memory slowly apparating."Big, fat, green and ugly creatures with a hyphenated last name _and_ a terrible habit of farting."

The Doctor's breath hitched, as though catching her thought process. The immense number of planets diminished. "They fart, yes, what does it smell like?"

Valerie's lips twitched. "Bad breath."

"Calcium decay!" The Doctor went around the table, imagining a single planet as he shook Valerie by the shoulders. "Calcium phosphate. Organic calcium. Living calcium. Creatures _made_ of living calcium—"

"—Big, fat, green and ugly with a hyphenated last name—"

Valerie squeaked loudly, startled as she was literarily swept off her feet. "Yes! That narrows it down to one planet. _Raxacoricofallapatorius_!" The Doctor stilled, nearly dropping her as realization dawned him. His dark eyes took her in, the startling shade of red against her brown cheeks and the strands of hair that stuck to her face. He reached over, brushing away a strand that was too close to her mouth. And no, he had _not_ been staring—

Mickey's voice, although relieved, was dripped in sarcasm. "Oh, yeah, great. We could write 'em a letter." His comment seemed to snap him out of his reverie and the Doctor was glad for it. Promptly, he looked away as though the situation never happened.

Valerie looked lost for words before she shook her head, running towards the phone. She can hear the sound of the door straining heavily. "Kitchen, now!"

Jackie whimpered loudly. _"My God, it's going to rip us apart!"_

The Doctor nodded. "Calcium, weakened by the compression field. Acetic acid."

"Just like Hannibal!" Harriet said excitedly.

"Just like Hannibal. Mickey, got any vinegar?"

 _"How should I know?"_

"It's your kitchen," the Doctor pointed out.

Rose heaved out a sigh. "Cupboard by the sink, middle shelf."

There was a voice before Jackie's voice sounded through the phone. " _Oh, give it here._ _What do you need?_ "

"Anything with vinegar!"

Valerie cringed, listening Jackie list off the foods with distaste. She grimaced at Rose, who looked embarrassed (and rightly so). " _Wow_ , Rose."

The Doctor shared the same sentiment. "And you kiss this man?"

Rose blushed. "Oh, shut up!"

Valerie let out a laugh, her breathy laughter breaking the silence. "Hey, no judgement, none at all!"

"Oh, you better!" Rose said, huffing. Then she turned to Harriet curiously. "Hannibal?"

"Hannibal crossed the Alps by dissolving boulders with vinegar." Harriet explained. Rose was a bit curious on how well she knew the show but she merely shrugged.

"Oh. Well, there you go then."

Valerie held up the empty glass to the rest of them in mock toast, plopping down on her seat as they chugged down on their drinks. She propped an elbow on the table, her chin resting on her palm.

"So..." She trailed off, sharing brief glances with her companions. "What now?"

 _"Listen to this."_ Mickey spoke up, the phone crackling with movement before a voice resonated through it.

 _"Our inspectors have searched the sky above our heads and they have found massive weapons of destruction capable of being deployed within forty five seconds."_

The Doctor's brows furrowed, baffled. "What?"

 _"Our technicians can baffle the alien probes, but not for long. We are facing extinction, unless we strike first. The United Kingdom stands directly beneath the belly of the mother ship. I_ beg _of the United Nations, pass an emergency resolution._ Give us the access codes _._ " Valerie gaped openly at the phone, mouthing silent swears. _What the fuck. "A nuclear strike at the heart of the beast is our_ only _chance of survival because from this moment on it is my solemn duty to inform you planet Earth is at_ war _."_

"He's making it up," the Doctor said, scoffing loudly as he went out heading to the door. "There's no weapons up there, there's no threat. He just invented it."

Harriet followed him, her face scrunching up in concern. "Do you think they'll believe him?"

Rose snorted. "They did last time."

"She's right, what other reason they wouldn't have?" Valerie said, crossing her arms casually as she stood at the Doctor's right. "I don't know if you noticed but each and every Slitheen is imitating someone of political power or of great authority. The acting prime minister _is_ the acting prime minister for a reason, he's trusted by the public." _For a bunch of ugly green babies, they're really good at strategy._

"That's why the Slitheen went for spectacle," the Doctor mused aloud, nodding. "They want the whole world panicking, because you lot, you get scared, you lash out."

Rose ah'ed in understanding. "They release the defence codes."

"And the Slitheen go nuclear."

"But why?"

The metal doors stuttered, revealing the Slitheens turning around to them expectantly.

The Doctor's face cooled considerably, veiling any sort of emotion except for anger. Cold, hard anger. He pretended not to notice how Valerie seemed to shiver at the sudden change of mood. "You get the codes, release the missiles, but not into space because there's nothing there. You attack every other country on Earth. They retaliate, fight back. World War Three. Whole planet gets nuked."

One of the Slitheen, cloaked in the body of a middle-aged woman stepped forward. Her lips curled into a cunning, devious smile as though the ploy was merely for fun. "And we can sit through it safe in our spaceship waiting in the Thames. Not crashed, just parked. Only two minutes away."

"But you'll destroy the planet, this beautiful place," said Harriet, distressed. "What for?"

"Profit," the Doctor answered promptly. "That's what the signal is beaming into space. An advert."

The woman's eyes twinkled in mischief. "The sale of the century _._ We reduce the Earth to molten slag, then sell it piece by piece. Radioactive chucks, capable of powering every cut-price star liner and budget cargo ship. There's a recession out there, Doctor. People are buying cheap. This rock becomes raw fuel."

The Doctor's eyes hardened. "At the cost of five billion lives."

It enraged Valerie, at how the woman merely shrugged at the very thought. "Bargain."

"I give you a choice," the Doctor began, his words coating a deadly promise. "Leave this planet or _I'll_ stop you."

"What, you?" The woman scoffed, looking at him up and down. "Trapped in your box?"

"Yes. _Me_." Despite the disbelieving laughter, the Doctor's face didn't falter. Valerie cast a worry glance at the Time Lord's face, the only sound in the room was the shutters closing.

"I do hope, Doctor," she started, catching his attention at the mere use of his name. For as long as he's known her (which isn't very long but), the times she's ever called him _Doctor_ had been few in number and it reminded him of how much knowledge she held in that tiny, human brain of hers. Knowledge that could save them time. Knowledge that she withheld despite the costs and he hates her for it. "That you're not going to do anything you'll end up regretting."

Her words are ominous and he wonders if they foreshadow something. Her hazel eyes are unreadable and it makes him wonder when did she start becoming so difficult to read. He stared down at her, his words barely audible to the point only she heard it. "Don't count on it."

* * *

 **VALERIE'S POINT OF VIEW**

* * *

As they listened to the news through Rose's phone, all of them were in their own thoughts, thinking of ways to solve the situation. Sans for the moments of someone throwing an idea in (to which the Doctor would scoff and reject it, much to Valerie's chagrin), the conversations amongst them were null. Valerie leaned back, arms crossed and deep in thought.

She wasn't the smartest person in the room nor was she most creative. If anything, she stood at the same level of knowledge as Rose (and hell, the girl probably knows more than she does at this point). She doesn't posses the universal knowledge and intelligence of the Doctor nor does she have Harriet's political wit. Valerie Sargent is just a barista, working hard for a degree that may prove more trouble than its worth.

Even then, she has to be useful somehow.

 _"All right, Doctor. I'm not saying I trust you, but there must be something you can do,"_ Jackie said, her voice crackling at the connection.

"If we could ferment the port, we could make acetic acid," Harriet said, more or less to herself rather than to the rest of them.

"Mickey, any luck?" Rose asked, obviously concerned.

There was a sigh, resigned. "There's loads of emergency numbers. They're all on voicemail."

"Voicemail dooms us all." Harriet despaired.

Valerie took the time to look over each and everyone of them, noting the Doctor's expression. Even though his face hasn't wavered since the encounter with the Slitheen, she can see the inner battle in his face. She knew exactly what it meant. Valerie's gaze drifted over to the blonde girl.

Rose groaned. "If we could just get out of here—"

"There is," Valerie said, pointedly ignoring the narrowed look the Doctor is sending her and the message behind it ( _don't you dare, don't you dare_ ). "There's always a way out and you know that, don't you, 'Doc?"

"What?" Rose shot a glance at the Doctor, silently asking if it was true.

The seething look on his face was answer enough, Valerie decided. "Yes. There's always been a way out."

"Then why don't we use it?" Rose asked, looking at the both of them incredulously. Valerie can hear her thoughts; _why didn't you suggest it earlier? why did the Doctor look so angry when Valerie mentioned it? whywhywhy_ —

The Time Lord was staring at Rose but his words aren't meant for her. "Because I can't guarantee your daughter will be safe."

Valerie grimaced at Jackie's voice, imagining the rage and concern and the battle in them. " _Don't you dare. Whatever it is, don't you dare!_ " Jackie knows all too well of the price and the consequences but damn it all. Anyone, anything _but_ Rose.

The Doctor heaved a sigh, resigned. "That's the thing. If I don't dare, everyone dies."

Rose. Reckless, impulsive, selfless, brave and _stupid_ Rose. "Do it."

"You don't even know what it is," the Doctor said. Valerie pretended to not hear the small crack of his voice. "You'd just let me?"

There was something in Rose's eyes that hit both of them a bit too hard. "Yeah."

" _Please._ " Jackie's voice returned, sounding more desperate than angry. " _Doctor. Please. She's my daughter. She's just a kid._ "

Valerie realized, watching the Doctor and Rose, that this was the sort of scene she didn't belong in. In the heat of their gaze, the devastation in the Doctor's face and the absolute _trust_ in Rose's, it was too private. Neither she nor Harriet nor anyone else belonged here. Not in this moment.

There was something particularly painful about this scene. Valerie checked it off as the pain in Jackie's pleading voice. She's always been the empathetic sort.

"Do you think _I_ don't know that?" Valerie didn't see the way his gaze had darted away from Rose's for a moment, to look at her. "Because this is my life, Jackie. It's _not_ fun, it's _not_ smart, it's just standing up and making a decision because _nobody else_ will."

"Then what're you waiting for?" Rose asked, not quite understanding the situation. The more Valerie looked at Rose, the more she noticed at how oblivious this girl was. She doesn't know how the Doctor felt about her. Valerie wants to grab Rose by the shoulders and shake her hard, wants to scream at her. _The Doctor loves you, the Doctor loves you, don't you see?_

But she doesn't. Not yet.

"I could save the world," the Doctor breathed, as though it took everything in him to sound the words out. As though the very idea was too painful to voice. It reminded Valerie that she was nothing more than a mere viewer in this reality, in this show. "but lose you."

Valerie cast a glance to Rose's direction, taking in the utter surprise in them. There was something else in her expression, something beyond than what Valerie could comprehend. She wondered if Rose had realized it then.

"Except it's not your decision, Doctor." Harriet's voice was the very knife that cut the tension. The woman whose form had seemed meek at the beginning was firm, something akin to steel. Valerie admired her for it."It's mine."

" _And who the hell are you?"_

Valerie can understand the spiteful words that Jackie spits out. It was, techniquelly speaking, Harriet's decision. Meaning that it rested on Harriet's shoulders, their lives for the sake of the world. And to a politician, to a woman who sought for the future, the decision was obvious.

"Harriet Jones, MP for Flydale North. The only elected representative in this room, chosen by the people for the people." Harriet stared down at the Doctor, as though his towering height was nothing to her. _Backbencher my ass, huh_ , Valerie wants to say but doesn't. "And on behalf of the people, I command you. Do it."

The Doctor looked resigned but Valerie noticed the way his shoulders seem to straighten slightly. Like the weight had lessened. He nodded.

"How do we get out?" Rose asked.

"We don't. We stay here." Valerie handed him the Emergency Protocols, attempting to school her face into a professional one. But she can feel the way her lips quiver and the watering in her eyes. She ignored the Doctor's stare. She was terrified and rightly so but she wouldn't voice it to him. Everyone in this room was at risk (and though she knows that they'll all make it okay, they have to), the fear was still prominent.

The Doctor is already at work, ordering Mickey through Rose's phone. The blonde had planted herself at Valerie's side. Rose's hands were shaking but they were obscured by Valerie's own hands. The older girl rubbed circles on the back of Rose's hands, attempting to calm the trembling.

 _"What're you doing?"_ Jackie inquires.

" _Hacking into the Royal Navy,_ " Mickey replied. " _We're in. Here it is. HMS Taurean, Trafalgar Class submarine, ten miles off the coast of Plymouth._ "

The Doctor nodded. "Right, we need to select a missile."

" _We can't go nuclear. We don't have the defence codes._ "

"Don't need to," Valerie said. "I'm pretty sure we don't need nuclear to bomb it, just an ordinary missile." As far as she's concerned, nuclear weapons are a bit of an overkill for just a building.

"What's the first category?" The Doctor asked.

" _Sub Harpoon, UGM-A4A._ "

"That's the one. Select. You ready for this?"

Mickey's voice was resolute, hardening. " _Yeah_."

The Doctor's lips twitched upwards. "Mickey the idiot, the world is in your hands." There was pause, all of them sharing a glance. "Fire."

" _Oh, my God._ "

"How solid are these?" Harriet asked, sharing the same fear that ran deep in Valerie.

"Not solid enough," the Doctor replied solemnly. "Built for short range attack, nothing this big."

Rose's grip on her hand tightened, garnering her attention. "All right, now I'm making the decision. I'm not going to die. We're going to ride this one out. It's like what they say about earthquakes." Rose gestured towards the cupboard, tugging Valerie's hand. "You can survive them by standing under a doorframe. Now, this cupboard's small so it's strong. Come and help me. Come on."

Valerie shared a brief glance with the Doctor before she scurried over to help Harriet and Rose. She felt pride swell up in her chest at watching Rose. For a girl who thought she wasn't worth much because she didn't go to college, she is definitely going places. A voice whispers in Valerie's mind, dark and sinister; _But that very bravery is going to be her downfall._

"What's the status?" Valerie asked,shifting the items in her hand as she placed them on the ground.

" _It's on radar_." Mickey's voice crackled. " _Counter defence five-five-six_."

The Doctor swore lowly. "Stop them from intercepting it."

" _I'm doing it now._ "

"Good boy."

" _Five-five-six neutralised._ " Mickey declared over the phone. Valerie quickly dropped the items in her hand, nudging Rose and Harriet in front of her with the Doctor just behind her. They all shuffled towards the corner, crammed against each other in all sides.

Valerie swallowed nervously, eyes darting between the Rose and the Doctor. As Fate would've had it, she was squished between the two love birds and it physically pains her to be in between such chemistry. _Of fucking course._

Harriet gulped loudly. "Here we go. Nice knowing you three," she said, nodding to them all. It was moments like these that Valerie was very glad for the fact that she isn't alone with the Doctor and Rose. Shaking her head absently, she stares at the ceiling as they all wait for the impending doom. "Hannibal!"

As each second ticked by, the faster her heart seem to beat against her ribcage. Too lost in her own fear, she didn't even realize that she had subconsciously grabbed the Doctor's hand. Valerie paid no heed to the incredulous look the Doctor was shooting at her, muttering half-hearted prayers under her breath and eyes clenched shut.

They were going to make it, she knows that but fear is a very funny thing. Your awareness of it doesn't make it any less terrifying.

 _KABOOM_

As the sound rang in her ears, the cupboard shook roughly, throwing them all over. Valerie shrieked, her back crashing against the other side of the wall. Everything was moving too fast all at once, too much for her to be able to stabilize. The little room continued to shake, as though it was a snow globe in the hands of a child. Then, in one moment, the shaking ceased and all was normal.

"Holy shit." Valerie breathed, letting out an incredulous laugh. "That - that was something." Her legs shook beneath her, her only support being the wall she was leaning against.

Rose giggled. "Don't get Earthquakes in Canada?"

"Not usually, no." Valerie held out a hand towards the blonde girl, having reached her bearings. "Then again, I don't think the UK gets those often either, do they?"

"Not usually, no," said Rose.

Valerie laughed, loud and obnoxious and filled with relieved. She didn't the arms that wrapped itself around her shoulders, instead, she relished the feeling and comfort they brought. Rose's own laughter mingled with hers as they followed the Doctor and Harriet out, amazed, astounded and beyond relieved.

Harriet breathed. "Made in Britain."

The instant they stepped out, armed men rushed towards them. Valerie smiled nervously at one of the familiar faces, the one who had dragged her to this men in the first place. She waved.

"Hello."

"Oh, my god. Are you all right?" One of them asked, borderline horrified and baffled to see that they were just fine.

"Harriet Jones. MP, Flydale North." Harriet, uncaring and not a speck of dirt on her, flashed her ID at them. "I want you to contact UN _immediately_. Tell the ambassadors the crisis is over. They can step down." When they didn't move, hesistant to follow orders, she narrowed her eyes at them. "Go on, tell the news."

One of them straightened, saluting her before they scurried off. "Yes, ma'am."

"Someone's got a hell of a job sorting this lot out." Harriet let out a noise, horror dawning on her. "Oh, _Lord_. We haven't even got a Prime Minister."

"Maybe you should have a go," the Doctor said.

Harriet merely laughed, disbelieved. " _Me_? Huh. I'm only a back-bencher."

Rose smiled. "I'd vote for you."

Valerie hummed, not quite voicing her opinion. Harriet certainly would make a good Prime Minister but in the end, the very knowledge she holds will only be her downfall. Not that she'll stop her from becoming Prime Minister. As far as she's concerned, Harriet Jones, human as she is, is the best candidate.

"Now, don't be silly." Harriet said, shaking her at them. She blinked, catching sight of the other people gathering. She waved at them before scurrying off, calling out. "Look, I'd better go and see if I can help. Hang on! We're safe! The Earth is safe!"

Valerie shuffled awkwardly, unsure of where to stand or sit or do anything really. The Doctor was a little ways away from her, busying himself at the console and pointedly ignoring her presence. While the Time Lord had been pretty civil to her, wary as he is—that tolerance could only go so far. And judging by the tense set of his shoulders and the deep frown on his face, they've reached the end of it.

She stared at him, remembering the kind smile of the Eleventh and inviting grin of the Tenth. The Ninth, distant and cold and too fresh from the War, is a bitter reminder that she doesn't belong.

"What's your problem with me?" She voiced, her words coming out before she could stop it. She crossed her arms, gripping her forearms tight. Her back was straight and she had cooled her face into one she hoped was indifference. She is ready.

For that backlash, that yell, the complete and utter and _foreign_ distrust from the Oncoming Storm.

"My problem with you?" The Doctor's voice is surprisingly calm but there was intone of iciness that sent shivers down her spine. She didn't reply, waiting for him to finish. The Doctor whirled around to face her, every bit of that warrior that single-handedly ended the Great Time War.

"My problem with you is that you _know_ ," he began, approaching her. It took everything in her to not take that damned step back. "You _know_ everything about me, my past, my future, and everything in between! You _know_ what happens, the bad, the good, and the deaths that happen! And yet, and yet, you don't do a _damn_ thing! And why? 'Cause you're scared to change the 'future'? Of some fake reality that you're so focused on? That, _that_ is my problem!"

His words ringed out in her mind, a little echo that never seemed to lessen in volume. Suddenly, the Doctor's face morphed into something else. _Someone_ else. This time, there was no dark eyes, no shaven head, no big ears and the heavy-set frown. Instead, where the Doctor's eyes should've been, were a startling pair of blues. Despite the change, it still held the same _something_ the Doctor's held. Her lips trembled, staring at the face of _him_.

" _T-thomas_?" When his name left her lips, the Doctor's whole demeanor seem to pause. She didn't notice. All she could was _himhimhim_.

Then.

Pain.

* * *

 **THE DOCTOR'S POINT OF VIEW**

* * *

The Doctor couldn't help it but his (righteous) anger subsided at the whiplash look on her face. Valerie's eyes seem to glaze over, the edges of her lashes darkening with tears. Her mouth was agape and her brown skin paling at the sight of him. Although her eyes were staring straight at him (they weren't, they weren't, not him, someone else), the Doctor has a distinct feeling that he is the last thing on her mind right now.

So when she uttered a name, foreign and unknown and in a way that made his hearts pause, the Doctor didn't move. Minutes had passed but the moment of standstill felt like centuries went by. Then, without warning, Valerie's knees shook and she crumpled.

It is instinct, the Doctor tells himself, as his arms reached forward and he caught her by the waist. It's nothing, as her skin, lighter and placid and not quite in the right shade seems to engulf itself in golden embers. It's a natural thing as his hearts clenched and he realizes that she's leaving.

Rose is going to miss her, he thinks and doesn't admit that after this one adventure, he might too.

Then, in his arms, Valerie gasped and the overwhelming brightness obscured him.

Within a blink of an eye, Valerie disappears without a trace.

Another time.

* * *

 **A/N: Well. Uhm. I should probably provide an explaination, considering you guys do deserve it. Uh... Okay, well, after the last chapter I was in the middle of writing this one and I got hit by this onslaught of writer's block. It didn't help that this chapter was REALLY hard to write (and I can't believe it took me like what? Four weeks, I'm so sorry guys) so I did scenes at random intervals and I just finished the last part like just now cause I feel like I needed to post it as soon as I can. ALSO I GOT REALLY INTO NARUTO AGAIN (despite the shit ending, sorry for those who don't watch anime) and I really really love My Hero Academia? I just? So expect some stories from those sooner or later probably later? Anyways uh, so this story-it's pretty shit, grammar errors and bad writing in general but I really hope you guys like it! And lemme know what you think!**

 **REVIEWS:**

TPWABW / : Thank you! I'm glad you guys like it!

XBnemesisX: Ah yes, big fat and green creatures. I love them. They fart a lot. Kinda reminds me of my Dad. Er, I know! The Doctor ought to trust her more! But like as you can see from this chapter, he kinda sorta does? but after the events of the first time they met things are kinda murky between them? And aweh, thank you so much for liking Val so much!

I can relate. Work's been such a pain. This week I'm working 6 days in a row? I'm in pain urhg. And Thank you! (I didn't but I appreciate it)

bwburke94: Err, uh, in the show, I guess but this is a story (of a girl who watched Doctor Who since she was a kid I'd hope she knows Martha's name) Sorry if that comes off as rude? Thanks for reviewing!

jessjones: Aweh, thank youuuu! And yes, girl, me too! 12's latest season is one of the best and I can't wait to write it with Val! Thank you so much for the support!

MageVicky: Damn, I hope so dude loool. Thanks for reviewing!

Shona: Oh, I know! It gets worst from here or I think? This one basically starts and ends and has a middle of Val having a mental breakdown? I feel bad but Val has a lot of conflicts with the plot and her past sooo. Aweh, man same! I hope I did him justice for you! And yes, please! DM me whenever you're ready! I wish I contacted you earlier but I didn't know how so. Thanks for reviewing!

. .True.24601: Thank you bb ;; and I have! Although I don't think I went farther than chapter three? There's so many Doctor Who-OC fanfics that some of them start looking the same? I mean, the Wanderer of Time Series is really great and beautifully written and I especially love the plot I'm getting from it (so I'm reading it again soon probaly) but the trope does get tiring (which is why I'm trying really hard to make this one stand out plot wise) Thank you so much for reviewing and I really appreciate it!

Arashi - IV of VI: Baby! Hi! Thank you! I love! And yes, there is! I think I forshadowed in soemwhere in the chapters? Don't count on it though i dont even know LOOl and thank youuu, I'm so glad that you did! Thank you for reviewing bb, your reviews are always appreciated!

twilightvamps: oh, no it's okay! ahaha I was bit confused so and no problem!

KittyCatKate: Oh no worries! I love seeing your reviews though so I'm glad to see it! And yes, considering that she was literarily swept off her feet unto another dimension (and time), I'd imagine that she would sometimes forget and remembering would take a toll. And maybe she will snap, maybe she won't (pretty sure she will? like i love her but my baby is probably losing it whoops) and thank you so much for revieiwng!


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